CLAREMONT (April 22, 2025)- The Whittier College baseball team mounted a spirited late-game comeback but ultimately fell 6–4 to the Sagehens in a non-conference matchup at Pomona-Pitzer. Despite a two-run homer from
Maximus Berber (Riverside, Calif., Ramona) in the ninth inning, the Poets couldn't overcome the early deficit.
Whittier's offense got off to a slow start, but the team continued to battle throughout the game. In the early innings,
Spencer Jenkins (Bakersfield, Calif., Menlo College) took the mound for the Poets and worked around traffic in the first, but the Sagehens capitalized on some tough-luck hits in the second to take the lead. They would continue to take advantage of some free passes by the Whittier pitchers, and by the end of the fourth Pomona had a 5-0 lead.
The Poets broke through in the fifth.
Parker Eastwood Lilles (Vancouver, B.C., Canada, Saint Georges School) drew a walk to start the inning and was brought around to score when
Sevon Battle (Las Vegas, Nev., Baker College) ripped a single to center. Battle stepped up and delivered an RBI single to bring Eastwood Lilles home, cutting the deficit to 5–1.
Whittier continued to show fight in the later innings. In the eighth,
Jay Schulze (Huntington Beach, Calif., Huntington Beach) reached base with a single and aggressively took second on a wild pitch. He came around to score on a defensive miscue, bringing the Poets closer at 6–2.
Then came the ninth inning. The Poets managed to load the bases with no-outs; however, a double play brought a run home but left only a runner at third. That brought Berber to the plate, and the senior slugger didn't disappoint—launching a towering two-run home run over the left-field wall to bring the Poets within two.
This is how the game would end though, as the Poets could not quite get their offense going early enough and dropped this one by a final of 6-4. Despite only scoring 4 runs, Whittier hitters had 9 hits and 7 walks. The pitchers did not get hit around in this game, but too many free passes allowed the Sagehens to take advantage. The Poets will look ahead to this weekend where they will play their final SCIAC series of the season. Whittier will travel to OXY on Friday to take on the Tigers at 3:00, before they return home to battle Occidental in a double-header at home on Saturday.
Key Performances:
Sevon Battle: 2-for-4, 1 RBI, 1 R, SF
Maximus Berber: 2 RBI, 1 R, BB, HR
Parker Eastwood Lilles: 1-for-2, R, 2 BB
Salinas,
Lewis,
Lopez: 3 IP, 0 HA, 0 ER, 3 K's
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