WHITTIER, CA. (MAR. 22-23, 2024)- After a long break away from their home field, the Whittier College Poets baseball team returned to take on the Tufts University Jumbos. The teams squared off in a 3-game series, with a single game on Friday and then a double-header Saturday. Whittier played good on Friday and earned a victory, but the team had a rough Saturday and dropped the second and third games. 

GAME 1: 
In the first game of the series the Poets were back up to their own ways and got out to an early lead. After Maximus Berber (Riverside, Calif., Ramona HS) shut down the Jumbo's in the first inning, the Poets went to work in the bottom half of the first. Teige Barrett (San Diego, Calif., Mira Mesa HS) started things off by singling through the left side, and Lew Rice (Walkerton, Va., IMG Academy) followed it up with a triple down the right field line. Berber, who was hitting form himself, came up next and grounded out, but brought Rice home on the play. The Poets had a 2-0 lead at the end of the first. 

After a scoreless second inning, Whittier got back in the scoring column in the bottom of the third. James Stirton (Cerritos, Calif., Valley Christian HS) led the inning off with a single through the left side and advanced on a error by the Jumbos the next play. Barrett was able to reach first on the error and the Poets had their first 2 men aboard this inning. Ian Watanabe (Lodi, Calif., Lodi HS) then loaded the bases by getting hit by a pitch. Luis Guillermo Chavarin Jr. (Fullerton, Calif., Sonora HS, Cerritos College) then came up with a huge 2-out single that brought Barrett and Stirton in to score. Whittier had extended their lead to 4-0. 

Tufts was able to make a comeback, by scoring 1 in the fifth, seventh, and eighth; however, Barrett put an end to that comeback as he took the ball once again late in this ball game. After already having 2 hits and scoring 2 runs in this game, the two-way star pitched the final 1.2 innings for Whittier earning the save while striking out 4. 

The Poets would hold on to win this game, 4-3, despite only having 5 hits. Berber, Owen Moore (Austin, Texas, St. Michael's Catholic Academy), Nate Burke (Glendale, Calif., Glendale HS), and Barrett held the Jumbos at bay and picked the hitters up in this one. 

GAME 2:
The second game of the series was set to be a 7-inning one, after the start time was pushed back due to the rain. In a wet, muddy game the Poets were not able to get anything going on either sides of the field. 

The team would go down early in this game and were not able to climb out of the hole. They managed to have hits recorded by 6 different players, but the offense could not string anything together. Tuft came out of the gate swinging though, finishing with 14 runs on 13 hits. The final score of this game would be 14-0 in 5 innings of play. 

GAME 3: 
The third and final game of this series would end up being the rubber match, with the winner taking the series as well. The Poets tried to recapture the form they had in the first game, but unfortunately nothing was going in their favor today and the final score of this game would be 10-0 in 7 innings of play. 

The purple and gold managed only 3 hits this game. Stirton added 2 more to his series total, while Ty Aldridge (Hayward, Calif., Moreau Catholic HS, Allegheny College) recorded his first of the series. Tufts continued to swing a hot bat in this game. 

Whittier will look to move on past this series and look ahead to next week's matchup. They will be returning to SCIAC play, as they travel to Claremont to take on CMS next Friday. This game will begin at 3:00, then the teams will square off for a double-header on Saturday in Whittier starting at 11:00