PASADENA (Feb. 29, 2020) – The Caltech baseball team nearly added to the momentum it has accrued in recent weeks, playing two competitive games with Kalamazoo College during Saturday's baseball doubleheader.

Game 1: Kalamazoo 1, Caltech 0

The first game saw the Beavers pitch as well as they have as a collective unit all season. Sophomore Dawson Beutler (Omaha, Neb. / Millard West) got the start and responded by averaging just one baserunner per inning while punching out two Hornets over five. Beutler's ability to locate gave the Beavers chances early, and freshman Danny Collinson (West Chester, Pa. / Henderson) followed up with a clean inning of his own thanks to two grounders and a fly ball. While the freshman came out to pitch the seventh inning, he would be relieved by left-handed classmate Arya Mevada (Marietta, Ga. / Wheeler) as the Beavers saw a chance to enduce a lefty-lefty matchup which traditionally works in favor of the defense. The Beavers' gambit paid off as Mevada struck out the lone batter he paced. Sophomore Pierce Governale (Tampa, Fla. / Berkeley Preparatory School) pitched out the inning, following up on his strong showing the day before. Overall, the Beavers allowed a collective four hits to the Hornets, but unfortunately ran into a strong pitching performance from the visitors as well, resulting in a 1-0 setback. 

Game 2: Kalamazoo 10, Caltech 4

The second game of Saturday's doubleheader saw the Beavers make good on the wishes of Head Coach Kevin Whitehead after beating the Hornets when he expressed a desire for his team to play clean defense throughout the next day. Caltech had no errors in Game 2 and actually led for most of the contest. A three-run first inning put the home team on top, keyed by a costly error by the Hornets' first baseman that scored two runs on its own. Later in the inning, Beutler singled into center field, driving in junior outfielder Dillon Holder (New York, N.Y. / Horace Mann) to stake the Beavers to a 3-1 lead. Caltech regained the lead in the fifth inning when senior Cortland Perry (New York, N.Y. / The Dalton School) notched a single, then again made use of a Kalamazoo error to advance all the way to third. Freshman Jack Warren (Foster City, Calif. / San Mateo) went on to knock Perry in and give the Beavers a late lead before things finally came undone in the final inning.

Whitehead and the Beavers will now set their sights on Sunday's doubleheader with Connecticut's Wesleyan University, with the first game slated to begin at 11 a.m.

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