GEORGETOWN, TX. (Mar. 12, 2024)- The Poets battled Tuesday night against the Nichols College Bison, as they played a neutral site game in Texas. Whittier started the game off well, but Nichols was able to come back in the late innings and defeat the Poets by a final score of 9-7. 

The Poets continued with what has been their identity all season and took an early lead in this game. James Stirton (Cerritos, Calif., Valley Christian HS) started things off by being hit with the first pitch of the game and Teige Barrett (San Diego, Calif., Mira Mesa HS) was then walked. With runners on first and second, Lew Rice (Walkerton, Va., IMG Academy) smashed a ball over the right-center field fence to give Whittier a 3-0 lead. 

In the bottom of the first, the Bison were able to get 2 back of their own and then tied the game at 3 in the bottom of the second. 

Whittier broke the tie in the top of the third thanks to another good run from the top of their lineup. Rice doubled to left-center and then Maximus Berber (Riverside, Calif., Ramona HS) got his second hit of the game and moved Rice over to third. Ian Watanabe (Lodi, Calif., Lodi HS) stepped to the plate next and broke the tie by singling up the middle and scoring the runner from third. The Poets now possessed a 3-2 lead. 

The score remained the same until the sixth inning when the Poets scored another. Nathan Sherman (Ventura, Calif., Buena HS) drew his 2nd walk of the game and then used his wheels to score when Luis Guillermo Chavarin Jr. (Fullerton, Calif., Sonora HS, Cerritos College) knocked a double to the center field wall. The 2 run lead did not last though, as Nichols bats woke up in the bottom half of the sixth inning and tied the game at 5. 

Barrett broke the tie in the top half of the seventh, launching his 8th homer of the year over the left field wall. Berber followed it up with his 4th hit of the day and then Cam Gray (Bloomington, Ind., Bloomington North HS) came in and drew a 4-pitch walk. Sherman then got his 3rd walk of the day to load the bases. Chavarin added another RBI to his total next with a deep SAC fly that extended the Whittier lead to 7-5. 

The Bison would go on to score 4 unearned runs in the bottom of the seventh inning and this is where the scoring would end. Whittier was not able to get the momentum going in their favor again and Nichols would hold on to win this game by a final score of 9-7. 

Jackson Salinas (Oxnard, Calif., Oxnard HS, Oxnard College) and Nate Burke (Glendale, Calif., Glendale HS) both pitched well in relief for the Poets today, as the 2 went a total of 5.1 innings giving up 3 runs and striking out 5. Lukas Long (Stockton, Calif., Bear Creek HS) also threw well at the back end of the game for Whittier throwing a perfect innings on 13 pitches. On the offensive side the purple and gold continued to smash the ball. Rice and Barrett combined for 4 hits, 4 runs, 4 RBIs, a walk, and a stolen base. Sherman managed to reach base 3 times as well on 3 walks. The team earned 5 walks, 2 hit-by-pitches and only 3 strikeouts today. 

Tomorrow the team will wrap up their Texas trip as they take on the #20 ranked team in the nation, in the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. The Poets will look to get one final win before they head back home to California. The first pitch of this game will be at 2:30 PM Central time.