LOS ANGELES, Calif. (APR. 25, 2026) – Whittier College baseball split Saturday's doubleheader at Occidental, dropping a tight 5–4 game in the opener before responding with a dominant 12–0 shutout victory in the series finale.
The Poets showed fight in the first game, taking a late lead behind a three-run home run from
Alex Jasso (South Gate, Calif., MACES) before bouncing back with a complete performance in game two, powered by a nine-run first inning and a complete-game pitching gem from
Carter Calkin (Kirkland, Wash., Bellevue Christian).
Game One: Occidental 5, Whittier 4
Whittier struck first in the opening inning.
Rayden Miguel (Ewa Beach, Hawaii, Moanalua) reached on an error to start the game,
Joe Plaskett (Fremont, Calif., Washington) followed with a single, and
Parker Eastwood-Lilles (Vancouver BC, Canada, St. George's Academy) brought Miguel home with an RBI single to give the Poets a 1–0 lead.
Occidental answered with two runs in the second and added another in the sixth to move in front 3–1, but Whittier delivered its biggest swing in the seventh. Miguel singled to center,
Matthew Mecate (Highland, Calif., CSU Dominguez Hills) followed with a base hit, and Jasso launched a three-run home run down the left-field line to put the Poets back ahead, 4–3.
The Tigers tied the game in the eighth and then pushed across the winning run in the ninth on a sacrifice fly, taking the opener 5–4.
Miguel led the Poets with three hits and two runs scored, while Jasso drove in three with his seventh-inning home run. Plaskett, Eastwood-Lilles, Mecate, and
Thomas Iten (Stockton, Calif., Lincoln) also added hits as Whittier finished with eight in the game.
Game Two: Whittier 12, Occidental 0
The Poets responded in a big way in the finale, erupting for nine runs in the first inning and never looking back.
Miguel opened the game with a single, Mecate walked, and Jasso reached on a sacrifice bunt and error to load the bases. Plaskett lifted a sacrifice fly to bring in the first run, Eastwood-Lilles was hit by a pitch to force in another, and
Collin O'Driscoll (Belmont, Calif., College of San Mateo) lined a two-run single to right.
Warren Canciller (Corona, Calif., Santiago) followed with a two-run single, Mecate added a sacrifice fly later in the inning, and Jasso capped the frame with a two-run single as Whittier jumped out to a 9–0 lead.
Eastwood-Lilles added to the lead in the second with a solo home run down the left-field line. Plaskett then homered to right in the sixth, and the Poets pushed across their final run in the seventh when
Coehn Nakasone (Aiea, Hawaii, Mid-Pacific Institute) scored on an error.
Calkin handled the rest, tossing a complete-game one-hit shutout while striking out five. He allowed just one walk and kept Occidental off the scoreboard all afternoon. The sophomore carried a no-hitter all the way to 6.2 innings pitched, and then the Tigers were finally able to scratch across their first hit in the seventh.
Whittier totaled 10 hits in the win. Miguel finished with two hits and two runs, Plaskett homered and drove in two, Eastwood-Lilles homered and drove in two, Jasso added two RBI, and O'Driscoll and Canciller each drove in two.
The Poets closed the day with a strong response, using early offense and dominant pitching to finish the series on a high note. This was the final SCIAC action of the year for Whittier, who finished with a conference record of 10-14. The Poets will play their final games of the year up in Oregon this next weekend, in a 3-game set against Pacific University. They will play 2 on Friday and then have their final game of the year on Saturday.
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