WHITTIER / THOUSAND OAKS, CA. (April 18/19, 2025)- The Whittier College Poets took on the #11 nationally ranked Cal Lutheran Kingsmen in a 3-game series over the weekend. The Poets battled with the Kingsmen all weekend and ultimately the 2 games they lost were decided by 1 inning in the games. Despite Cal Lu being a top-ranked team Whittier managed to steal a game from them in the series.
GAME 1:
The Whittier College baseball team opened their weekend series against SCIAC leader Cal Lutheran on Friday afternoon, falling 8–2 at Hugh B. Mendez Stadium. A big fourth inning from the Kingsmen proved to be the difference.
The first two innings featured strong pitching from senior
Maximus Berber (Riverside, Calif., Ramona), who worked around a leadoff baserunner in the second and kept the Kingsmen off the scoreboard early with good fastball command and help from his defense — including a clean double play turned.
Cal Lutheran opened the scoring in the top of the third, stringing together a pair of singles that gave the visitors a 1–0 lead. Then the fourth inning, proved to be the turning point. A pair of fielding errors and timely hitting led to five unearned runs for the Kingsmen, as it was now 6-0.
The Poets were able to scratch a run across in the bottom of the sixth. After
Coehn Nakasone (Aiea, Hawaii, Mid-Pacific) doubled down the right field line,
Matthew Mecate (Highland, Calif., CSU Dominguez Hills) singled through the left side to plate the Poets' first run of the day. That cut the deficit to 6–1.
Cal Lutheran responded in the seventh with two more runs, but Whittier refused to go quietly. In the bottom of the frame,
Alex Jasso (South Gate, Calif., Maywood Center for Enriched Studies) doubled to left field and was brought in to score on a
Jackson Brummett (Huntington Beach, Calif., Huntington Beach) RBI single. However, this is where the scoring would end and the Poets would drop this one by a final of 8-2.
Key Performances:
Coehn Nakasone: 1-for-3, Double, BB, R
Matthew Mecate: 1-for-3, RBI
Joe Plaskett: 2-for-4, Double
Alex Jasso: 2-for-4, 2 Doubles, R
Jackson Brummett: 1-for-3, RBI
Carlos Rodarte: 3 IP, 2 HA, 0 R
Game 2:
The Whittier College baseball team secured a pivotal 7–5 victory over Cal Lutheran in the opening game of Saturday's doubleheader at Sparky Anderson Field. A five-run sixth inning, highlighted by
Joe Plaskett's (Fremont, Calif., Washington) solo home run and
Gama Martinez's (Highland, Calif., Arrowhead Christian) RBI single, propelled the Poets to their 12th win of the season.
Both teams remained scoreless through the first five innings, with Whittier's starting pitcher,
Owen Moore (Austin, Texas, St Michael's Catholic Academy), delivering a strong performance on the mound. The Poets' defense also played a crucial role in keeping the Kingsmen off the scoreboard during this stretch.
Then in the sixth inning the Poets' offense erupted. Plaskett led off with a solo home run, putting Whittier on the board. After Jasso doubled to left center, Martinez followed with an RBI single.
Derek Cruz (La Mirada, Calif., Rio Hondo College) came up next and hit a single down the left field line to advance Martinez. Nakasone then got in on the action doubling down the left-field line, bringing in Martinez.
Sevon Battle (Las Vegas, Nev., Baker College) then hit a ball to the shortstop; with Battle racing down the line, the shortstop rushed the throw and threw it away. This throw allowed 2 more runs to score, extending the lead to 5-0.
In the bottom of the inning the Kingsmen answered with four runs. Capped by a grand slam, they narrowed Whittier's lead to 5–4.
Whittier added two more runs in the seventh. After Berber, Jasso, and Martinez all reached, Cruz drew a bases-loaded walk to put the Poets up 6-4. Following that;
Parker Eastwood Lilles (Vancouver, B.C., Canada, Saint Georges School) hit a line drive right back at the pitcher that he somehow caught, but then threw the ball away allowing another Poet run to score making it 7–4.
Cal Lutheran added a run in the eighth, but Whittier's bullpen held firm, preserving the 7–5 lead. Whittier's defense secured the final outs in the ninth, with Eastwood Lilles crashing hard on a sinking flyball to center field that he was able to secure and then double off the runner at second to earn the victory.
Key Performances:
Coehn Nakasone: 1-for-4, R, RBI, Double
Derek Cruz: 2-for-3, R, RBI, BB
Joe Plaskett: 2-for-5, HR, 2 R, RBI
Owen Moore: 5 IP, 2 ER, 5 HA, 3 Ks, WIN
Aaron Cazares: 1.2 IP, 1 ER, SAVE
Game 3:
In a high-scoring affair, the Whittier College baseball team fell to Cal Lutheran 14–12 in the final game of their SCIAC weekend series. Despite building a 7–2 lead through six innings and a late four-run rally in the ninth, the Poets couldn't withstand a big Kingsmen comeback in the seventh and eighth innings.
After a scoreless first inning, the Poets offense turned up for the remainder of the game scoring in every inning besides the first. Whittier got on the board in the top of the second. Berber and Jasso reached with back-to-back singles before Eastwood Lilles delivered a sharp two-run single up the middle to give Whittier an early 2–0 advantage.
The Poets kept the pressure on in the third. Mecate led off with a walk and came around to score when Plaskett roped an RBI double down the left-field line, extending the lead to 3–0. However, the Kingsmen were not going to go away quietly and scored 2 of their own in the bottom of the third.
Whittier quickly regained momentum in the fourth. After Brummett worked a walk, Battle drove a double into the right-center gap, allowing Brummett to score and pushing the lead to 4–2. Brummett stayed hot in the fifth, singling home Jasso to make it 5–2.
In the sixth, Plaskett reached on an error and later scored on an RBI single by Berber, giving the Poets a commanding 6–2 lead. Then in the seventh Eastwood Lilles singled to center field and was brought around to score on a Battle deep double to left field.
However, the game turned in the bottom of the seventh. Cal Lutheran erupted for eight runs to take a 10–7 lead. The Kingsmen kept it rolling in the eighth, tacking on four more runs and pushing their lead to 14–8.
Down six runs in the ninth, Whittier showed no quit. Battle started things with a walk and moved around to third on a Mecate double to right field. After Plaskett was hit by a pitch to load the bases,
Joseph Leyva (Downey, Calif., La Harbor College) brought a run home on a SAC bunt to make the score 9-14. Then Jasso hit a 3-run monster shot over the left field fence to bring the score to 12-14. This is how the game would end, despite the loss the Poets racked up 15 hits and saw strong offensive efforts from several players.
Key Performances:
Sevon Battle: 2-for-5, R, 2 RBI, 2 Doubles, BB
Matthew Mecate: 2 R, 2 BB, Double,
Maximus Berber: 2-for-4, 2 R, RBI, BB, SB
Alex Jasso: 3-for-5, 3 R, 3 RBI, BB, HR, SB
Parker Eastwood Lilles: 2-for-4, R, 2 RBI, SAC
Andrew Berdelis: 5.2 IP, 5 HA, 1 ER, 2 Ks
Despite losing this series 2 games to 1, the Poets played the Kingsmen very well. Cal Lutheran had come into this weekend as the #11 ranked D3 team nationally, but Whittier is no stranger to playing top ranked teams. The Poets showed no fear and took the Kingsmen head on in this series, and got solid performances all around. Whittier will get back to it early this week, as they will travel to Pomona to take on the Sagehens again. This game however will not count towards their conference standings and will begin at 3:00.
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