WHITTIER, CA. (March 2, 2025)- The Poets finished a long weekend of play against the Whitman College Blue Sunday afternoon. Whittier had opportunities in this game, but ultimately lost this one by a final of 8-3.
The Blues got off to a fast start scoring in the first inning, and then taking advantage of some Poet fielding mistakes later in the game. By the bottom of the 4th the Blues had a 6-0 lead. Despite the score
Owen Moore (Austin, Texas, St Michael's Catholic Academy) pitched well for Whittier. The junior went 3.2 innings giving up only 2 earned runs on 5 hits, while striking out 2.
In the bottom of the fifth the Poets went on a little 2-out rally.
Jay Schulze (Huntington Beach, Calif., Huntington Beach) got things started with a walk, then
Coehn Nakasone (Aiea, Hawaii, Mid-Pacific) and
Sevon Battle (Las Vegas, Nev., Baker College) followed that up with singles of their own to load the bases.
Collin O'Driscoll (Belmont, Calif., College of San Mateo) and
Matthew Mecate (Highland, Calif., CSU Dominguez Hills) then each walked and brought in 2 runs for the Purple and Gold.
Whitman however, re-extended their lead in the top of the sixth inning, putting on 2 more runs to take an 8-2 lead over Whittier. In the bottom of the ninth O'Driscoll was able to bring one more run across the plate for Whittier, singling home Schulze, but the gas would run out there.
The final score of this game would be 8-3. Schulze and Nakasone were great for the Poets today, as each of them were able to reach base 3 times and score runs for Whittier. While Battle lead all Poet hitters with 2 hits, and O'Driscoll provided 2 RBIs. Whittier also had one of their best days out of the bullpen in this game, as
Spencer Jenkins (Bakersfield, Calif., Menlo College),
Luke Estrada (Corona, Calif., Santiago), and
Diego Lopez (San Jose, Calif., West Valley College) all came in and threw well.
Whittier will have to once again try to turn the page quickly on this game. The Poets play again at home on Tuesday, taking on Westcliff University at 2:00.
Follow and show support for your Whittier Poets on Twitter (@WCPoets), YouTube and Instagram (@PoetAthletics)!
