Photo by: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com

WHITTIER, Calif. – The Whittier College baseball team remains atop the SCIAC Standings following a lopsided sweep this weekend over the Stags of Claremont-M-S outscoring their opponent 31-9 to improve to 6-5, 6-0 SCIAC.

After starting off the season 0-5 in non-conference games the Poets are now riding a six game winning streak into this Friday's three game series with Whitworth University.

Game 1 (W, 11-5)

Whittier put together a strong first game of the series on the road.  They scrapped together a run in the top half of the first when Julian Barzilli (Los Angeles, Calif.) reached on a fielder's choice plating Jonathan Whipple (Sandy, UT).  They again brought around another run in the second via a squeeze bunt put down by Armando Valdez (Whittier, Calif.) that brought in Ben Cerami (Berkeley, Calif.).  Then in the 3^rd, the Poets opened the game up with a four spot sparked by a single down the right field line by Cody Martinez (Whittier, Calif.) that brought around Barzilli and Stephen Zavala (Whittier, Calif.) before Valdez singled through the right side bringing in another pair.

Leading 6-1, Whittier added to their lead with a pair in the 4^th thanks to a double down the left field line by Barzilli and then added a run in the 6^th with a solo shot from Barzilli to left field.  Then in the 9^th, Whittier added insurance putting the game out of reach with two in the 9^th following a sacrifice fly from Barzilli and a triple by Martinez.

Barzilli finished the day 4-5 with three runs scored, and four runs batted in, while Martinez finished 2-6 with a run scored and four RBI's.

On the mound, Nick Garcia (Anaheim, Calif.) got the start and went 5.2 innings giving up an earned run on six hits to go with three strikeouts picking up his second win of the season.

Game 2 (W, 11-1)

In the first game of the doubleheader Whittier continued where they left off on Friday picking up 11 runs on 14 hits over seven innings.  They got out early 2-0 following a two run shot from Barzilli to center field.  But they didn't stop there adding another six runs in the second thanks to a double from Mike San Angelo (Downey, Calif.) and Whipple, a triple from Zavala, and a sacrifice fly from Martinez that moved the score to 8-0. 

In the 4^th, Whittier struck again for two runs both coming off the bat of Barzilli who crushed his second homerun of the game over the center field fence and then in the 7^th, Whittier's Bryson Kihara (Kaneohe, HI) singled to center bringing in the final Poet run.

Zavala finished the day 2-3 with two runs scored and an RBI, while Barzilli finished 2-2 with two runs scored, four runs batted in, two walks, and two homeruns.  Whipple at the top put together his strongest offensive outing finishing 4-5 with a run scored and two runs batted in. 

On the mound, Curtis Martin (Honolulu, HI) got the win his second of the season after going a complete game giving up one run on four hits, while striking out three.          

Game 3 (W, 9-3)

In the second game of the doubleheader, Claremont-M-S went in front for the first time in the series with three runs in the Top of the 1^st.  Whittier cut the deficit to two in the bottom half however thanks to Zavala who singled through the left side plating Corey Jensen (Blairstown, NJ). 

Whittier struck for four in the bottom of the 3^rd with five singles from Jensen, Barzilli, Martinez, Cerami, and Whipple that gave them a 5-3 lead they would not relinquish.  They would add two more in the next inning with a sacrifice fly from Martinez and JP Fasone (Englewood, CO) reaching on a fielder's choice and then in the 6^th, Whittier would add the final dagger bringing in another two runs putting the game out of reach following a double from Martinez, a sacrifice fly from San Angelo, and a fielder's choice from Whipple.

Jensen finished 4-5 with three runs scored, while Martinez finished 3-4 with two runs scored and two runs batted in.  Justin Cheatham (Kihei, HI) started off slowly in the first inning but settled down going 6.1 innings giving up three runs on six hits with five strikeouts en route to his second victory on the season. 

Whittier gets back to their non-conference schedule as they open up a series with Whitworth this Friday, February 28 at 2:30pm for a single game and then conclude with a double header the following day Saturday with game times set for 11:00am and 2:30pm.