WHITTIER, Calif. (Mar. 10, 2026) – The Whittier College softball team asserted itself on home field on Tuesday afternoon, defeating Hamline University in a non-conference doubleheader that took on a tale of two very different games.
Game 1: Whittier 11, Hamline 6
The first game of Tuesday's doubleheader saw the Poets having to overcome some early adversity before ultimately sticking seven runs on the Pipers in the fifth inning. Starting second base
Kelly Nutter (Carlsbad, Calif. / La Costa Canyon Cal State San Marcos | Palomar College) had a breakout offensive performance, first by actually flying out to deep center field in her first at-bat. Nutter saw something she liked, however, and when facing the same Hamline pitcher in the fifth inning, took advantage of the same pitch in the same spot and this time muscled it over the center field fence for a game-changing grand slam. Nutter's second home run of the year scored Poets' starting pitcher
Maya Torres (Lakewood, Calif. / Artesia), along with outfielder
Gaby Hernandez (Chino, Calif. / Chino) and catcher
Mariah Rodriguez (Barstow, Calif. / Barstow).
Rodriguez, on a per at-bat basis, had as prolific of an offensive series as any Poet. She doubled three times between the two games. However, Game 1 also saw the Poets' advantage on the base paths come into full focus. Whittier totaled three triples in Game 1, a softball rarity as Nutter, sophomore third base
Lana Escarcega (San Jose, Calif. / Valley Christian) and freshman outfielder
Tiaira Richardson (Vista, Calif. / Rancho Buena Vista) each picked up three-baggers -- this, in a game where 11 total errors were committed by both defenses. However, the Poets' big fifth inning, spurred on by Nutter's grand slam proved to be the ultimate difference. That, and the Pipers committing two of their five errors for the game that extended the inning and gave the Poets further opportunities to pad their lead. Junior center fielder
Daniella Contreras (Buena Park, Calif. / John F. Kennedy), along with Rodriguez, doubled in back-to-back at-bats to tack on the 10th and 11th run of the game for good measure.
Torres, who started at pitcher and hit cleanup in Game 1, earned the win by throwing five innings before giving way to senior
Bella Peinado (Ventura, Calif. / Ventura). Peinado threw two shutout innings, surrendering just one hit to pitch the Purple & Gold to safety in a wild first game of the day.
Game 2: Whittier 10, Hamline 0
Junior transfer
Mariah Zapata (Apple Valley, Calif. / Granite Hills Fullerton College | Long Beach City College)'s performance out of the circle headlined a much cleaner Game 2 for the Purple & Gold. Zapata brought her best stuff while freshman
Addison Sorto (Los Gatos, Calif. / Los Gatos) called a great game behind the plate to help her pitcher to 4.1 no-hit innings before Hamline was able to enter the box score. Zapata otherwise did an outstanding job of pitching to contact, working around a bases loaded jam to end the game in five innings and earn the first win of her Whittier softball career.
Rodriguez, who starred as the designated player out of the three-hole, went 3-for-3 at the dish, picking up two runs and two RBIs along the way. She struck first in the first inning where the Poets spotted Zapata to a seven-run lead early. Contreras, meanwhile, found a new home for herself at the top of the Poets' order and delivered with a pair of RBIs, joining Rodriguez and Richardson as Poets to register multiple RBIs in Game 2.
Head Coach Terry Schweikert and the Poets will return to action this weekend. They will host SUNY Oneonta for a Saturday doubleheader, set to begin at Noon PT.
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