AUSTIN, TX. (Mar. 9, 2024)- The Whittier College Poets opened up their road trip in Texas against Concordia University (Texas) in a double-header matchup. In the first game of the day a big inning by the Tornadoes catapulted them to a 9-1 victory, then in the second game Concordia used a late-game rally to defeat the Whittier by a final score of 13-4. 

GAME 1: 
The Poets got off to a fast start this game. Lew Rice (Walkerton, Va., IMG Academy) led things off with a walk and that brought the red-hot Teige Barrett (San Diego, Calif., Mira Mesa HS) to the plate. Barrett did not let the change of states slow him down, as he roped a double down the left field line that brought Rice to third. Ian Watanabe (Lodi, Calif., Lodi HS) then came up and did his job by grounding out to second base and bringing Rice home. The Poets had a 1-0 lead at the end of the first. 

Maximus Berber (Riverside, Calif., Ramona HS) held the Tornado's bats at bay in the first inning. After allowing the first 2 batters to reach Berber got the next 3 batters out, surrendering 0 runs. 

From that point on though Concordia had full control of this game. They managed to piece together 9 runs on 11 hits, while the Poet bats did not wake up. At the end of this game Whittier managed only 5 hits and the 1 run. Rice drew his walk in the first, then later in the game had a nice double, while Ty Aldridge (Hayward, Calif., Moreau Catholic HS, Allegheny College) had a single of his own. The one shinning spot in this game was Barrett, who finished with 3 doubles. Jackson Salinas (Oxnard, Calif., Oxnard HS, Oxnard College) came in and pitched well in relief for the Poets, going 4 innings giving up 3 hits and 2 earned runs on 4 strikeouts.  

GAME 2: 
In the second game of the double-header, head coach Mike Rizzo sent Aaron Cazares (Eastvale, Calif., Norco HS) to toe the rubber. Despite the final line in today's game the sophomore pitched well for the Poets. He finished going 6.1 innings surrendering 4 runs with 6 strikeouts. Cazares kept the Poets in this match for the majority of the game, but the bats were not there to support him today. 

Once again Whittier got off to a good start in the first inning. Barrett singled in his first at bat and was brought home later that inning by a Berber double. After 1 inning of play the Poets had a 1-0 lead. 

The game remained in a 1-0 score until the fourth inning. In the fourth with 2-outs, Aldridge hustled out a double hit into right-center field. The next batter, James Stirton (Cerritos, Calif., Valley Christian HS), then brought him around to score and gave Whittier a 2-0 lead. 

The score remained the same until the sixth inning when the Concordia bats woke up. The Tornadoes scored 1 in the sixth, 3 in the seventh, and then 9 in the eighth. After going down 13-2, the Poets bats would need a massive comeback in the ninth. 

Whittier did manage to score some runs in the final inning, but the comeback would fall short. Coehn Nakasone (Aiea, Hawaii, Mid-Pacific HS) got things started by drawing a walk, then Cole Friend (Carlsbad, Calif., Carlsbad HS) was able to get a nice pinch-hit single. Thomas Iten (Stockton, Calif., Lincoln HS) followed that up by singling up the middle for his first collegiate hit. With the bases loaded Barrett stepped to the plate and brought a run home by working a 9 pitch walk. Cam Gray (Bloomington, Ind., Bloomington North HS) brought the final run of the game home for Whittier, hitting a SAC fly after Barretts walk. 

Ultimately the final score of this game would be 13-4, as the Poet bats could not get much going this game either. Aldridge led the way for the team tallying 2 hits this game. 

The team will look to turn the page on today's games with 4 more matchups taking place on this Texas road trip. Tomorrow they will once again face off against Concordia, looking to steal one away from them. The first pitch of this game is scheduled for 12 Central time.