Baseball Drops Two of Three to Claremont

Whittier College baseball continued conference play with a three-game series against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on March 7 and 8.  The Poets (5-8-1, 4-2) took game one of the series in Claremont by a score of 13-3.  They didn't fair as well in the day two doubleheader at Memorial Baseball Field, losing 10-5 in game two and 8-7 in ten innings in the series finale.

Whittier was firing on all cylinders in the series opener.  They took an early 4-0 lead with four runs in the second inning and tacked on two more runs in the top half of the fifth.  Claremont (6-6-2, 6-3-0) scored a pair in the bottom of the fifth and one in the seventh, but it wasn't enough.  The Poets put on the finishing touches with seven runs in the final three innings.

On the mound, Thomas Phelps '09 (2-1) pitched a strong eight innings, allowing just two earned runs on eight hits with seven strikeouts.  Marty Bueno '09 pitched a scoreless ninth inning, including two strikeouts. 

At the plate, the Poet offense erupted for 13 runs and 15 hits.  Leading the way was Chuck Acker '08, who reached base in all five plate appearances, going 3-for-3 with a double, two walks, one RBI, four runs scored and three stolen bases.  Nick Taiariol '08 was 2-for-3 with a three-run homer and a pair of walks.  Mike Benavente '09 went 3-for-5 with a double, two RBI and two runs scored.  Anthony Capelletti '09 had an RBI-triple and scored a run.  Trevor Bormann '10 had a pair of hits and drove in a run.  Ryan Crawford '11 drove in one run and scored three more.  Lorenzo Lopez '09 added an RBI and a run scored.

In game two, Claremont took the early lead, scoring four runs in each of the first two innings.  The Poets cut the lead in half with three runs in the second and one in the third, but could not complete the comeback.  The Stags went on to the 10-5 victory.

Cappelletti finished with a triple and a solo blast, his fourth of the year, stole a base and scored three runs.  Benavente had a two-run single in the second inning.  Lopez and Crawford each went 2-for-4 with a double, RBI and a run scored.

Blake Luitwieler '08 (2-2) was credited with the loss after his start lasted just two innings.  Bueno came on in relief to pitch 4.2 scoreless innings.

The series finale needed extra innings to be decided.  Once again, the Stags jumped out to an early lead, this time with runs in both the first and second inning for the 2-0 edge.  The Poets answered in a big way, putting up five runs in the third inning, capitalizing on five singles and a Claremont error to take the lead. 

The Stags weren't finished, however, as they scored one run in the fourth inning to make the score 5-3 and then took over the lead with four runs in the top of the fifth.  Lopez and Benavente responded with RBI in the bottom half of the inning to tie the score at seven.  Neither team was able to score during the remainder of regulation, and in the top of the tenth, a Claremont home run proved to be the difference.

Kevin Pigott '09 was credited with the loss despite pitching a solid 4.2 innings.  He gave up the one earned run in the tenth, just one of two hits he allowed.  He also struck out four batters.

Offensively, the Poets were led by Lopez, who went 2-for-4 with three RBI.  Acker went 3-for-6 with an RBI and two runs scored.  Crawford and Benavente each drove in a run.

The Poets are in action again on March 14 for the start of the California Classic.  It begins a ten-day stretch in which the Poets play ten games.  They host UMASS-Dartmouth at 3:00pm on Memorial Baseball Field.