Photo by: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com
WHITTIER, Calif. – The Whittier College baseball team won their fourth straight game cruising to an 11-2 victory over the Sagehens of Pomona-Pitzer a week after sweeping the Tigers of Occidental College.
Whittier now improves to 17-15, 11-11 SCIAC, while Pomona-Pitzer drops to 19-12-1, 13-9 SCIAC.
The Poets baseball team too many are having one of the best years in Head Coach Mike Rizzo's tenure here at Whittier College. The Poets are led by senior captain Andrew Vallejo who again did it at the plate finishing this afternoon's contest 4-5 with four runs and five RBI's. He led the game off with a double to left center for Whittier and continued his hot streak in the ensuing inning with a three run homer to left field that put the Poets on top 4-0 early.
But he didn't stop there as he singled in two runs in the next inning and then singled in his fourth at bat in the bottom of the fifth. Whittier scored nine runs in the first three innings including a five spot put up in the third. The inning started off with back to back singles from Austin Straus and Nick Amicone and they were then sacrificed over by Pete Mitchell. Tyler Bogart then came up and walked and was followed by Josh Genzuk who singled to left field driving in the first run. But the bleeding didn't stop there as Vallejo singled to right driving in two followed by Corey Jensen who drove in another two with a single to center.
A play to many that would go into the score book as a routine fly ball was the web gem catch made in centerfield by senior Bogart who made a diving catch in left center in the bottom of the fourth that kept two runs from coming across the plate. That proved to be a big play stopping the Pomona-Pitzer rally that would have helped them cut into the Poet lead.
After Pomona-Pitzer added a run in the fourth, Whittier answered in the ensuing inning with a run of their own thanks to two errors by the Sagehen infield. This helped push the lead to 10-1 after five.
Then with the score at 10-2, Whittier wanted more and added a late insurance run in the eighth thanks to a single from Straus that drove in Cory Goodchild that pushed the lead to 11-2.
The Poets chased Sagehen starter Rooke-Ley who was tied coming into today's contest for the lead in SCIAC in wins with Poet ace Ryan Schwenn who is starting against the Kingsmen of Cal Lutheran on Monday afternoon. Rooke-Ley lasted 2.2 innings and gave up nine runs on 10 hits, which included a homerun to Vallejo.
On the Poet side senior Taylor Fallon again pitched a great game going 6.2 innings giving up two runs on nine hits to go with five strikeouts earning him his third win on the season. He gave way to senior closer Mike Rueda who came in to pitch 2.1 innings of shutout baseball to go with two strikeouts.
Not only did Vallejo have a stellar day at the plate going 4-5 but Straus finished 2-4 with a run and an RBI, Amicone finished 3-5 with a run and an RBI, while Genzuk finished 2-4 with two runs and one RBI.
Whittier returns to the diamond as they travel to Pasadena tomorrow, Sunday April 15 as they take on the Beavers of the California Institute of Technology beginning at 1pm before traveling out to Thousand Oaks, Calif. on Monday, April 16 to take on the Kingsmen beginning at 3pm.
