Matt Morgado '07 went 8-for-13 with four RBI,
but Whittier College lost two of three to Southern California
Intercollegiate Athletic Conference rival Pomona-Pitzer Colleges on
March 23 and 24. The Poets (10-18, 4-5 SCIAC) won game one at
Memorial Field by a score of 2-1. The next day, the Poets
lost both legs of the road doubleheader 7-6 and 10-9,
respectively.
Morgado went 3-for-4 with three doubles, an RBI and a run scored in
game one. Ty Crawford '07 had an RBI single
to drive in the Poets' other run. Nick Taiariol
'08 went 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored.
Thomas Phelps '09 (4-2) picked up the win,
allowing just one unearned run on five hits and a walk. He
also struck out two batters in eight innings pitched.
Kevin Chapman '10 earned his fourth save of the
season, pitching one scoreless inning.
The Poets scored both their runs in the first inning.
Taiariol walked and then scored on Morgado's first double of the
day. Margado was then brought in with Crawford's
single. Phelps took over, scattering five hits with the only
Sagehen run coming on a Poet error in the fifth inning.
In the second game of the series, Ryan Martin '08
went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles, an RBI, a walk and three runs
scored. Morgado went 2-for-4 with two RBI, a walk,
stolen base and a run scored. Crawford went 2-for-5 with a
double and two RBI. Taiariol doubled and scored a run and
Blake Coddington '09 drove in a run.
Blake Luitwieler '07 got the start on the mound
and pitched six and two-thirds innings. He allowed four runs
on eight hits and four walks while striking out six, but did not
factor in the decision. Kevin Chapman '10
(1-2) was cridited with the loss after giving up three unearned
runs on two hits and a walk in two-thirds innings pitched.
The Poets fell behind early, giving up a run to Pomona in both the
first and third innings to trail 2-0. Whittier got on the
board in a big way in the top of the fifth, scoring four runs
beginning with an RBI single from Martin and a two-run single from
Morgado. The Sagehens tied the score at four in the bottom of
the sixth after a pair of walks, a single and a sacrifice
fly. The Poets got back out in front when Crawford drove in
Martin, who reached on an error earlier in the inning. Martin
doubled to lead off the ninth inning and, once again, Crawford
brought him home, this time extending the Poet lead to two.
In the bottom of the ninth, a rash of Whittier errors led to three
unearned runs and a 7-6 loss for the Poets.
In the final game of the series, Kody Seminara '08
went 4-for-4 with a double and four RBI. Morgado went 3-for-5
with a solo home run (2) and two runs scored. Coddington was
1-for-3 with an RBI and three runs scored. Bobby
Wooldridge '08 went 2-for-4 with a double and a run
scored. Luke Moedritzer '09 walked, drove in
a run and scored another. Robbie Smith '08
also drove in and scored a run. Justin Armijo
'10 got the start and exited after three innings after
allowing eight runs on twelve hits and a walk. He struck out
one batter in the no-decision. Matt Schwarz
'07 (0-3) was the losing pitcher, after coming in to pitch
four innings of relief. He gave up two runs on seven hits and
struck out two.
The high scoring affair got started with five runs from the Poets
in the top of the first. With two outs, three straight
singles loaded the bases for Whittier. A Coddington single
brought home one run and a bases-loaded walk from Moedritzer
brought in another. Then, Seminara delivered a base-clearing
double to give the Poets a 5-0 lead early. Pomona answered
back in the bottom half with four runs of their own. Five
more hits and three runs from the Sagehens in the second gave them
a 7-5 lead. The Poets cut the lead in half with a run in the
top of the third and then Morgado tied the game at seven with his
solo blast in the fourth. Pomona answered in the bottom half
of the inning with a run of their own to go ahead 8-7. In the
sixth inning, Wooldridge led off the inning with a walk. He
was moved to second with a sacrifice bunt and later scored on a
groundout by Smith to tie the score for the second time. Once
again, the Sagehens answered back in their next at-bats, this time
with two runs to take a 10-8 lead. In the top of the ninth,
Seminara hit a one-out single that drove in Coddington. That
was all the Poets would get, however, and the game ended with the
score 10-9.
The Poets continue SCIAC play on March 30 when they travel to the
California Institute of Technology for the start of a three-game
series with the Beavers. The series continues with a
doubleheader at Memorial Field on March 31.
