ORANGE, Calif. - The Whittier
College baseball team split its doubleheader with the preseason No.
2 ranked Chapman University Panthers on Saturday afternoon as the
it dropped game one, 8-2, but bounced back to win the second game,
10-9, in 10 innings at Hart Park.
The Poets (2-1) nearly mirrored what they accomplished on Friday
afternoon by coming back from a 6-0 deficit to win the second game
of the twin bill in the extra frame. Chapman (1-2) scored two runs
in the first inning and tacked on four more in the fifth to take
the six-run lead.
Whittier was able to score three runs in the sixth as it opened
the inning with four consecutive hits. Reed
Tuttle, Michael Benavente and
Anthony Cappalletti all reached base and were
brought home by Andrew Vallejo's three RBI double.
Vallejo finished the second game with six RBI as he was 3-for-5
from the plate with one run scored.
The Poets added two more runs in the seventh inning to cut into
the Panther lead at 7-5 and later took the lead, 9-8, with a four
run ninth inning.
WC pushed the game winning run across the plate on a sacrifice
fly by Tyler Bogart. Bogart's deep fly brought in
David Tucci who led off the inning with a double
down the right field line.
Anthony Tsui (1-0) earned the win for the Poets
as he relieved Kevin Pigott in the ninth inning.
Tsui pitched 1.2 innings, allowed two hits and walked one batter.
Starting pitcher Martin Bueno went 7.2 innings,
scattered nine hits, allowed eight runs (three earned) and walked
one batter.
Offensively for the Poets Tuttle and Cappalletti joined Vallejo
with three hit afternoons. Tuttle was 3-for-6 with two runs scored
while Cappalletti was 3-for-4 with three runs scored and one RBI.
Austin Straus went 2-for-5 for Whittier which
includes a two-out, two-run homerun in the ninth inning.
In the first game of the day the Panthers jumped out to an early
3-0 lead after three innings. The Poets answered with a pair of
runs in the fourth inning but a four-run fifth inning by Chapman
proved to be too much for Whittier.
WC managed only five hits as catcher Ryan
Crawford had two of them (2-for-4).
Ryan Schwenn (0-1) started the game for
Whittier and went 4.2 innings, allowed 12 hits, eight runs (seven
earned) and walked one batter. Mike Rueda came in
relief and gave up two hits in 3.1 innings or work.
Whittier College returns to the diamond on Monday, February 9,
as it travels to Azusa, Calif., to face Azusa Pacific University at
6:00 p.m.
Photo by: Laurence Martinez/lrmphotos.com
