THOUSAND OAKS, CA. (Mar. 1, 2024)- Head coach Mike Rizzo and the Poets hit the road Friday afternoon to begin their second SCIAC series of the season against the Cal Lutheran University Kingsmen. Whittier was able to take an early lead in this game and Maximus Berber (Riverside, Calif., Ramona HS) held it down on the mound, to carry the Poets to a 3-1 victory. 

Berber took the ball for game 1 of the series, looking to bounce-back after Chapman last week. The junior did more than bounce-back, as his excellent complete game performance was the engine behind the Whittier victory. 

The pitcher got some early support in this game. In the first Nathan Sherman (Ventura, Calif., Buena HS) continued where he left off last weekend and hit a double into center-field. Following his at-bat Teige Barrett (San Diego, Calif., Mira Mesa HS) connected on a ball down the their baseline. As Barrett hustled into second base with the second double of the inning for Whittier, Sherman came around to score. At the end of the first the Poets held a 1-0 lead. 

In the third inning Barrett came up big once again for Whittier. With 2-outs he singled up the middle to bring Ian Watanabe (Lodi, Calif., Lodi HS) to the plate. Watanabe did what he has been doing all year and crushed a double into center field allowing Barrett to score. Whittier now held a 2-0 lead. 

The final run of the game for the Poets came in the fifth inning. Lew Rice (Walkerton, Va., IMG Academy), who has been dominating all year, once again got his pitch and made the Kingsmen pay. Rice crushed a ball over the right field fence and built the Whittier lead to 3-0. 

Despite Cal Lutheran getting a run on a solo shot in the sixth inning, Berber kept their bat at bay. The Whittier starter went the full 9 innings, with 5 strikeouts and 1 earned run, on 114 pitches. The Poets defense backed up their pitching today, with Sherman and Jay Schulze (Huntington Beach, Calif., Huntington Beach HS) turning 3 double-plays for the team. 

Barrett, Rice, and Jackson Brummett (Huntington Beach, Calif., Huntington Beach HS) each tallied 2 hits a piece for the Poets today. The team finished with 3 runs on 8 hits and 2 walks. Whittier will look to win their first SCIAC series of the year when they take on Cal Lutheran later this weekend in a double-header. The initial Saturday games were moved to Sunday due to the rain this weekend. The first pitch will come at 11:00 with the second game slated to start around 2:30.