WHITTIER, CA. (APR. 4, 2026)- Whittier College baseball erased a midgame tie with a four-run seventh inning Friday afternoon, pulling away for an 11–6 win over Caltech at Mendez Stadium in the opening game of the three-game SCIAC series.
Caltech struck first with two runs in the top of the first, but the Poets answered immediately in the bottom half. Matthew Mecate (Highland, Calif., CSU Dominguez Hills) drew a walk and stole second before Alex Jasso (South Gate, Calif., MACES) doubled to left. Joe Plaskett (Fremont, Calif., Washington) followed with an RBI double, and Aidan Cardoza (Riverside, Calif., San Bernardino Valley College) gave Whittier the lead with a two-run home run to right-center, putting the Poets in front 3–2 after one.
Whittier added on in the third. Jasso doubled to open the inning, Plaskett brought him home with another double, and Cardoza followed with a single. Parker Eastwood-Lilles (Vancouver BC, Canada, St. George's Academy) then singled to load the bases, and although Caltech turned a double play, Plaskett came home to extend the lead to 5–2.
Caltech pulled even in the fifth with a three-run inning, but the Poets had the answer in the seventh. Cardoza singled to start the rally, Eastwood-Lilles was hit by a pitch, and Jack Lee (Bellevue, Wash., Edmonds College) was also hit to load the bases. Rayden Miguel (Ewa Beach, Hawaii, Moanalua) then lined a two-run single to left, and Coehn Nakasone (Aiea, Hawaii, Mid-Pacific Institute) followed with a two-run double to right-center as Whittier broke the tie and surged ahead 9–5.
The Poets added two more in the eighth. Jasso was hit by a pitch and stole second, Plaskett reached on an error, and Cardoza drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. Another Caltech miscue later in the inning allowed Plaskett to score and stretch the lead to 11–5.
Cardoza paced the offense with a 4-for-4 day, including a home run, a double, and three RBI. Plaskett added two doubles and two RBI, Jasso scored three times and collected two doubles, and Nakasone's two-run double highlighted the decisive seventh inning. Whittier finished with 12 hits in the win.
After the early first-inning runs, the Poets settled in on the mound. Diego Castillo (Fontana, Calif., San Bernardino Valley College) gave Whittier three strong innings in relief, and Andrew Berdelis (Huntington Beach, Calif., Huntington Beach) earned the win with five innings out of the bullpen, allowing just one unearned run while striking out five.
With the win, the Poets take a 1–0 lead in the three-game weekend series. The final two games will be played Saturday at Caltech, with the first game starting at 11:00 AM.
Follow and show support for your Whittier Poets on Twitter (@WCPoets), YouTube and Instagram (@PoetAthletics)!
