WHITTIER, Calif. (April 22, 2023)- After a tough defeat on Friday, the Poets returned home to take on the CalTech Beavers in game 2 & 3 of the series. Whittier came out ready to swing the bats in game 1 coming away with 13 runs on 16 hits. The third game of the series was more of a back and forth, with the Poets ultimately ending the day with 2 victories. 

Game 1:

Maximus Berber took the mound for the Poets today with the hopes of continuing his success. The Poets were able to get some early insurance today scoring 6 runs in the first 2 innings. 

Dane Goodman walked up to the plate in the bottom of the first in a new role; he would be serving as Whittier's leadoff man today. Goodman did not let this new position phase him at all and was able to drive the first pitch he saw over the left field wall. Later in the inning Lew Rice came up and smoked a triple down the right field line, who was then able to come around and score on an Ian Wantabe groundout. Whittier led 2-0 at the end of the first. 

In the second inning, the Poets went on another rally. Jay Schulze was able to start things off with a double to left field. Schulze was then brought home on a James Stirton single. Next, Goodman hit a single and stole second that put runners on second and third for Teige Barrett. Barrett brought both runners home when he laced a double over the left fielder's head.Teige was brought home as well when Lew Rice followed him up with a double for himself. 

The Beavers began to crawl back into this game in the fifth and sixth innings scoring 3 runs and bringing the score to 6-3. Whittier was not going to give this game up though. In the bottom half of the sixth, Nathan Sherman and Goodman started the inning with singles and were both brought around when Barrett hit a rocket over the left center fence. Goodman added a few more insurance runs in the seventh inning, scoring 2 more runs with another single. Whittier had an 11-3 lead. 

CalTech exploded in the eighth inning. The Beavers were able to go on a big streak and bring 6 runs across, the score was now 11-9. The Poets needed to answer back and they did just that. Starting off Rice had a nice single through the 3-4 hole. Then Watanbe scored him with a nice double into right field. Whittier then brought in the speedy Joseph Leyva to run at second base, and using his speed he was able to score when Jesse Mendoza hit a shallow single into right field. 

With a 4 run lead Whittier went into the ninth comfortably, however; after 2 quick singles Coach Rizzo turned the ball over to Tanner Salazar. Salazar came in and slammed the door on the Beavers getting 2 groundouts, one which was a double-play, a save, and securing a 13-9 victory for the Poets. 

Berber secured the victory for Whittier, throwing 7 ⅔ innings giving up 5 earned runs with 6 strikeouts. 

Game 2:

The second game of the day was much messier for the Poets, but still had them prevailing. Teige Barrett got the ball for the Poets once again to be the game 3 starter. 

After a strong first 2 innings, the wheels began to fall off in the top of the third. A series of errors and hits allowed CalTech to score 5 runs and take a commanding lead over the Poets. 

However, Whittier was giving in that easily with the bottom of the third being a huge inning for them. Sherman started things off with a single and Stirton reached on a catcher's interference. Goodman then walked to load the bases for Barrett. Barrett brought Stirton and Sherman home with a single, then the bases were loaded again when Rice reached on an error. With 2 outs, Cam Gray and Sean Conboy singled to bring 3 more runs home this inning to tie the game back at 5. 

The tie did not last very long though as CalTech scored 2 more in the fourth. Whittier was able to scratch one more across in the bottom of the fifth, but CalTech was pulling away. They came back in the sixth with 3 runs and held a 10-6 lead over Whittier. 

Singles from Conboy and Delvan Gomez started the Poets' big inning off. After running for Conboy, Leyva and Gomez came around to score on walks and fielder choices. Whittier was now only training 10-8. RIce then hit a SAC fly bringing 1 more run across and the Poets were chasing 1. With Stirton and Barrett on the bases Berber came up to the plate. The two-way stud got his pitch and hit a nuke over the left field wall, which brought the Poets all the way back and gave them a 2 run lead. 

Both teams remained quiet for the next few innings, but CalTech found some light in the ninth inning. The Beavers hit a 2-run shot in the top half of the inning to tie the game at 9. In the ninth Joe Plaskett drew a pinch-hit walk. Schulze, who came in to run for Plaskett, advanced to second base on Shermans slow grounder. Stirton then came to the plate and hit a ball through the 5-6 hole. Schulze was on his horse as soon as the ball was hit and tried to score on the play. With a good throw from the left, the ball came in right as Schulze slid in. With a very questionable and controversial call, the umpire signaled the runner was out. The teams were headed to extras. 

Anthony Betancourt shut down the Beavers bats in the top of the tenth, so all eyes were on the Poets as they looked to walk it off in the bottom of the inning. Goodman started the inning off with a walk and moved over to second with a Rice single. Maximus Berber then got right on top of the plate and wore a pitch to load the bases for Matt Woods. Woods stepped into the box and was ready to play hero. The first pitch he saw came directly for him and he took it off the side. This hit-by-pitch allowed the winning run to come across the plate. Whittier had won 13-12. 

There was a lot to like out there on the field today for Whittier, but here are some of the player highlights. Goodman finished with 5 hits, a homerun, 5 runs, 3 RBIs, 2 walks, and 2 stolen bases. Barrett finished with equally impressive numbers of 4 hits, a homerun, 2 doubles, 5 runs, 7 RBIs, and a walk. Lew Rice had 5 hits as well, with 3 runs scored, a double, a triple, and 2 RBIs. Stirton also did his job at the plate today, going 4-7 with 3 runs, 2 RBIs, a walk, and a stolen base. 

The Poets are back in action next Saturday, as they travel to the University of La Verne. This will be a tough game for the Poets, but will begin action against the Leos around 11:00. 

Photo: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com

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