WHITTIER, CA. (MAR. 18, 2026)- Whittier College baseball continued its offensive surge Wednesday afternoon, scoring 16 runs on 14 hits in a 16–7 win over Illinois Tech at Mendez Stadium.
The Poets got on the board in the first when
Alex Jasso (South Gate, Calif., MACES) tripled to right and
Joe Plaskett (Fremont, Calif., Washington) followed with an RBI double to give Whittier a 1–0 lead. Whittier added four more in the second, as
Jackson Brummett (Huntington Beach, Calif., Huntington Beach) and
Jay Schulze (Huntington Beach, Calif., Huntington Beach) opened the inning with back-to-back singles before
Matthew Mecate (Highland, Calif., CSU Dominguez Hills) drove in a run with a single. Jasso added a sacrifice fly, Plaskett followed with an RBI single, and another run scored on a passed ball to stretch the lead to 5–0.
Whittier pushed the advantage to 6–0 in the third when Brummett tripled and came home on an RBI groundout by Schulze. The Poets added two more in the fourth after Mecate was hit by a pitch and stole second, setting up Jasso's two-run home run to left.
Illinois Tech got back into the game in the fifth with a six-run inning to cut the deficit to 8–6. But the Poets answered immediately in the bottom half. Brummett was hit by a pitch, Schulze and Mecate walked, and Jasso delivered again with a two-run double to right. Plaskett then reached on an error that allowed two more runs to score, pushing Whittier back in front by six at 12–6.
The Poets kept the pressure on in the sixth when Brummett doubled and eventually scored on an RBI hit from Mecate. After Illinois Tech picked up a run in the seventh, Whittier answered once more as
Aidan Cardoza (Riverside, Calif., San Bernardino Valley College) walked and later came around to score on Brummett's sacrifice fly. The Poets capped the day with two more runs in the eighth, when Mecate scored on a wild pitch and
Thomas Iten (Stockton, Calif., Lincoln) added an RBI single to make it 16–7.
Jasso led the offensive surge, finishing 3-for-4 with a double, a triple, a home run, and five RBI. Plaskett added two hits and three RBI, while Mecate scored four times and drove in two. Brummett scored four runs and collected three hits, and Iten chipped in two hits and an RBI in relief in center field. Brummett and Jasso both finished one piece shy of hitting for the cycle. Whittier finished with 14 hits and took advantage of five Illinois Tech errors.
On the mound,
Owen Moore (Austin, Texas, St. Michael's Catholic Academy) earned the win with four strong innings of relief, allowing just one run while helping the Poets lock things down after Illinois Tech's fifth-inning rally.
The Poets will look to carry that momentum forward as play continues next Thursday against Whitman College. This will be another home game for Whittier, with a first pitch at 3:00.
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