Whittier, Ca. — Baseball couldn't quite catch up to Whittier on Wednesday, ending with a 16-7 loss. A spirited six-run burst in the fifth inning wasn't enough to counter the Poets' strong offense, which racked up 14 hits in the game.
How it Happened
Whittier jumped ahead in the first inning with Alex Jasso tripling and scoring on Joe Plaskett's RBI double, setting the score at 1-0.
The Poets extended their lead in the second inning, putting up four more runs. Jackson Brummett and Jay Schulze both singled, leading to Matthew Mecate's RBI single. Jasso's sacrifice fly and a subsequent error pushed the score to 5-0.
In the third, Brummett's triple and a groundout added another run for Whittier, making it 6-0.
Jasso struck again in the fourth with a two-run homer, widening the gap to 8-0.
Illinois Tech made a strong comeback attempt in the fifth.
Matthew Bove doubled, and
Jonah Wilkes singled.
Philip Bentz and
Ryan Fostiak chipped in with RBI hits, while
Tyler Gutsfeld's three-run homer brought the score to 12-6.
Whittier added a run in the sixth, pushing it to 13-6.
The Scarlet Hawks managed one more in the seventh when
Luke Yachnin singled and later scored on Fostiak's groundout, narrowing it to 14-7.
The Poets tacked on two more in the eighth, with a wild pitch and a single allowing two unearned runs, sealing the game at 16-7.
Scarlet Hawk Pitchers
Carson Weis started on the mound for Illinois Tech, pitching 3 innings and giving up 7 hits, 5 earned runs, and 2 walks, while striking out 2.
John Gori gave an inning in relief, conceding 4 earned runs on 1 hit.
Cameron Bracewell pitched an inning, allowing 2 earned runs on 1 hit and 1 walk.
John Moran struck out 2 in his inning, but allowed 2 hits and 1 run.
Cullen Fulling and
James Kennedy each pitched an inning, with Kennedy striking out 2 but allowing 2 runs on 2 hits. Control issues plagued the Scarlet Hawks, resulting in a combined 12 walks and hit batters.
Scarlet Hawk Standouts
Tyler Gutsfeld
----------------------
- 3 RBIs
- 1 home run
- 2 hits
Ryan Fostiak
----------------------
- 3 RBIs
- 1 double
- 1 hit
Philip Bentz
----------------------
- 1 RBI
- 2 hits
- 1 run scored
Luke Yachnin
----------------------
- 2 runs scored
- 2 hits
Whittier Top Performers
Matthew Mecate
----------------------
- 4 runs
- 2 hits
- 2 RBIs
- 1 stolen base
Alex Jasso
----------------------
- 3 runs
- 3 hits
- 5 RBIs
- 1 home run
Jackson Brummett
----------------------
- 4 runs
- 3 hits
- 1 triple
Game Notes:
- Illinois Tech goes 0-2 against Whittier College this week in their first meetings.
Up Next
The Scarlet Hawks are set to open the NACC season as they host Edgewood University at noon Saturday at Ed Glancy Field.
