WHITTIER, Calif. (Apr. 21, 2025) – The Whittier College softball team got a much-needed victory on Saturday when it took its first SCIAC game since February on the road at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges. The Poets have been competitive, and are yet to be mercy-ruled. However, competing against some of the top teams in the country let alone the SCIAC, it had been some time since the ball bounced the Poets way.
On Saturday, Whittier made its own luck and successfully got the monkey off their back.
Game 1: CMS 5, Whittier 4
Though Friday, series opener in Whittier was competitive in its own right, Whittier came just two runs away from securing its first SCIAC series, let alone its first win in nearly a month. The bats came out in full force, with both teams combining for 21 hits. In fact, the Poets actually outhit the Athenas, 12-9, and half of them came off the bats of freshman catcher
Mariah Rodriguez (Barstow, Calif. / Barstow) and junior middle infielder
Kelly Nutter (Carlsbad, Calif. / La Costa Canyon / Cal State San Marcos | Palomar College). Additionally, junior pitcher
Bella Peinado (Ventura, Calif. / Ventura) pitched all seven innings and played well -- surrendering just one earned run over that frame.
However, the host Athenas had a big fifth innings where they scratched three runs across to tie the game before ultimately stealing the win in extra innings. Rodriguez provided the only base hit of the game for either team . She ran her batting average to .374 on the season. The prolific freshman also stole a base, and proved herself to be the best pure hitter on the field in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader.
Game 2: Whittier 5, CMS 2
Whittier's fortunes changed in Game 2 where they held the Athenas to just two runs over seven innings. Freshman pitcher
Maya Torres (Lakewood, Calif. / Artesia) was a big reason for that. Torres broke out with a complete game performance, striking out one while allowing nary an extra base hit to CMS. Torres' confidence on the mound extended to the offense, though similar to Game 1, Game 2 would come down to one big offensive inning to effectively decide the outcome.
Whereas 12 hits yielded four runs for the Poets earlier in the day, five hits yielded five runs for the Poets in the later game. This time, the Poets were efficient in their big moments, leaving just two runners on base over the full game, and it wasn't even necessarily because of their hitting prowess. Instead, they picked their spots and played one of their smartest games of the season. Senior catcher
Maya Palos (Monterey Park, Calif. / Schurr) notched a pair of RBIs without recording a single hit. Both came on sacrifice flies, the latter of which came during the team's turning-point sixth inning.
Sophomore outfielder
Daniella Contreras (Buena Park, Calif. / John F. Kennedy) started the good vibes with a base hit into center field, and from there the Poets proceeded to dump four runs on the Athenas, putting their freshman pitcher in a good spot to earn the second win of her career, and first complete-game win.
Head Coach
Terry Schweikert and the Poets will look to finish the year strong over their final two SCIAC series of the season. The first will come this weekend against Occidental College for Senior Day, with the Poets set to host the Tigers for two games on Saturday, Apr. 26.
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