WHITTIER / LA VERNE, CA. (April 4-5, 2025)- The Whittier College Poets faced off against the #8 ranked team in the nation this week, the CMS Stags. The Purple and Gold fought hard all weekend, and in the end, were able to steal the 3rd game of the series from the conference foe. Despite losing the first 2 games by scores of 4-10 and 3-8, the Poets rallied in the final inning of the weekend to secure the 11-6 victory over the high-powered Stags.
Game 1:
In the first game of the series at Whittier College, CMS jumped out early. The Stags jumped out to an early 4-0 lead over the Poets through the first 3 innings of the game. In the bottom of the fourth however, the Poets chipped away at the lead. After
Sevon Battle walked,
Joe Plaskett hit a monster shot over the center field fence to cut the Stags lead to 4-2.
The CMS lineup answerd back scoring 5 more runs in the top of the sixth and seventh to take a 9-2 lead over Whittier. In the bottom of the seventh, the Poets scratched 2 more runs across the plate. Plaskett started things with a walk before
Andrew Griffin tripled down the right field line. After
Alex Jasso grounded out to shortstop to bring home Griffin, the score was 9-4.
CMS scored 1 more run in the top of the eighth to bring the score to 10-4, and this is where the game would end. The Poets were not able to score any in the eighth or ninth and dropped this game by a final of 10-4.
Key Performances:
Joe Plaskett: 1-for-3, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB
Sevon Battle: 2-for-4, BB
Andrew Griffin: 1-for-3, 3B, RBI, R
Game 2:
Whittier was looking to turn the page and take both games, as they were taking on the Stags at a neutral site game at the University of La Verne.
A rough start for Whittier saw CMS jump out to a 6-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning of this game. The Stags then added to their lead scoring 2 more in the bottom of the third to take an 8-0 lead.
The Poets could not get anything going at the plate in this game, with
Coehn Nakasone having the lone hit through 5 innings for Whittier. Then in the top of the sixth inning, Coach Rizzo was looking for a spark and sent in multiple subs to try and change the momentum.
Rayden Miguel started things off with a single to right center, before
Matthew Mecate singled to right field and
Ian Watanabe singled to left field to load the bases.
Derek Cruz then stepped up with bases loaded and lined a ball to right field to bring home 2 runs.
Spencer Jenkins followed that up with an RBI single of his own to bring the score to 3-8 CMS.
The score would remain the same for the remainder of the game, as Whittier would drop this one by a final of 3-8. However, the Poet bullpen shut down the explosive CMS offense for the final 6 innings and were carrying the momentum heading to the final game of the series.
Key Performances:
Derek Cruz: 2-for-2, 2 RBI
Spencer Jenkins: 1-for-2, RBI
Diego Castillo: 3.2 IP, 3 HA, 0 R, 3 K
Carlos Rodarte: 1.1 IP, 0 HA, 0 R
Riley Schicker: 1 IP, 1 HA, 0 R
Game 3:
Whittier had dropped the first 2 games of the series, but showed a lot of fight and now had energy going into the final game. In the first inning of the game, the Poets loaded the bases and put pressure on the Stags' pitcher. The runners then forced a wild pitch and Nakasone was able to come in and score on it. Whittier had struck first in this game.
CMS was not just going to roll over, as they were able to answer back to tie the game in the bottom of the first. Whittier was ready to fight though, scoring another run in the top of the second.
Collin O'Driscoll and
Maximus Berber hit back-to-back singles to start the second inning off.
Jackson Brummett then came up and executed his conference-leading 8th SAC bunt, moving the runners to second and third. With runners in scoring position, Nakasone singled to bring home O'Driscoll and put the Poets up 2-1.
The 2 teams remained quiet for the next few innings, with
Spencer Jenkins once again pitching well in this game. In the top of the fifth, the Poets extended their lead. Brummett started things off with a single to center field. With Nakasone SAC bunting him over to second base, Brummett was able to score on a Mecate double to left center.
CMS was not just going to go away though and scored 4 runs in the bottom of the fifth to take a 5-3 lead. The Poets rallied again in the top of the seventh scoring 2 runs to tie the game at 5. Berber started things with a double to right center and was brought in to score on a Brummett single.
Nathan Sherman then came in and laid down SAC bunt that Brummett was able to beat out to third. With runners on the corners, Battle hit a deep fly ball to right center that was able to bring home Brummett and tie the game.
The Stags did not take long to answer though, scoring a run in the bottom of the seventh to recapture a 6-5 lead. After no runs were scored in the eighth, the Poets would have one final chance to take the lead.
In the top of the ninth, Brummett walked to lead the inning off and
Joseph Leyva came in to run for him at first. With the speedy Leyva at first Sherman once again SAC bunted to advance the runner to second. Leyva was able to advance to third on a fly out to left field, but the tying run was still at third with 2-outs. After Mecate and
Joseph Azevedo walked, the bases were loaded for Jasso. Jasso was down to his final strike before he was able to punch a huge single to right field to tie the game at 6.
Jay Schulze was then hit by a pitch to bring the go-ahead run across the plate. Then an error by the Stags allowed another runner to come across and Whittier was not ahead, 8-6. With the bases still loaded Berber wanted to put this game out of reach and roped a double to left center to bring in all 3 runners. The Poets were ahead in this one by a score of 11-6.
Diego Lopez then slammed the door on the Stags lineup and secured the 11-6 victory for the Poets. This was a huge win for the Poets, as they showed fight throughout the weekend and were finally rewarded for their efforts. This was a complete team win, as the boys were able to fight from the first pitch to the last.
Key Performances:
Jackson Brummett: 2-for-2, RBI, 2 R, BB, SAC
Maximus Berber: 3-for-5, 3 RBI, R, 2 2B
Jay Schulze: Go-ahead HBP, RBI, R
Andrew Berdelis: 3 IP, 1 R, 4 Ks
Diego Lopez: 1.1 IP, Win, 0 HA, 0 R, K
Despite dropping the series, Whittier will look to carry this huge win over the #8 team in the nation into their series against Caltech next weekend. The Poets will travel to Pasadena to take on the Beavers on Friday the 11th at 3:00.
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