PASADENA, Calif. (March 6, 2022) - The Caltech Baseball program had a memorable weekend as they squared off against SCIAC foe, the Whittier College Poets, as well as hosted the Whitman College Blues.

On Friday afternoon, the Beavers-Poets series began at Whittier College with the home team defeating Caltech 11-7. The Beavers were ahead 6-5 until the bottom of the sixth inning when the Poets regained the lead. The Beavers out hit Whittier 10 to 9 on the afternoon but couldn't translate that to more runs. With the loss, Caltech moved to 2-11, (0-4 SCIAC) while it was Whittier's first win of the year. Offensive stars on the afternoon included Dawson Beutler (Omaha, Neb. / Millard West) who went 2-6, with one RBI and one run scored. Freshman Cameron McNamee (Great Falls, Mont. / Great Falls) had two hits in five at bats while scoring a run and fellow rookie Garrett Knuf (Laguna Niguel, Calif. / Dana Hills) went 3-5 with two RBI and scored a run. Junior pitcher, Stephen Yee (Leawood, Kan. / Blue Valley), faced the minimum in his one inning of work striking out one.

On Saturday, March 5, the series against Whittier moved to Caltech as the Beavers hosted the Poets on North Field starting at 11 am in the first game of the doubleheader. Caltech won this game 9-4. outslugging the Poets 13 to 12 in hits. The Beavers trailed 3-1 until fortunes turned around beginning in the bottom of the sixth when Caltech scored four to forge in front 5–3. The Beavers tacked on four more in the bottom of the seventh to lead 9-3 and cruised to the 9-4 victory. Offensive stars included sophomore Darren Rhodes (Waco, Texas / Midway) who came in to play second base after freshman shortstop Jack Fishel (Baltimore, Md. / Boys' Latin School of Maryland) was injured running to first base early in the contest. Rhodes went 2-2 and scored twice while knocking in a run in his stint at second base as Knuf moved over to play shortstop. Junior Centerfielder Jack Warren (Foster City, Calif. / San Mateo) went 2-5 on the afternoon and Will Dembski (Pella, Iowa / Pella Christian) went 3-4.

While there were great defensive plays, including double plays turned by the Beavers in the second, third, sixth, and eighth innings, the star was clearly Beutler, who pitched a complete game, striking out seven and issuing no walks in the morning contest. His spectacular effort on the mound was highlighted by the fact that out of the 111 pitches he threw, 81 of them were for strikes.

After the fantastic win in the morning the Beavers came back in the afternoon and made it a doubleheader sweep, an historic event for the home side. In another outstanding pitching performance, this time turned in by senior Ryan Ruskansky (Annandale, N.J. / North Hunterdon) who went eight strong innings in improving to 3-3 on the year. The Beavers won 8-5 and were led offensively by the top and bottom of the order. At the top, Rhodes again starting at second base, went 2-4, scoring once and knocking in another run. Beutler, who pitched the gem in game one came back to catch the nightcap, excelling offensively while going 3-4, scoring a run and driving in two. In the third position, right fielder Dembski went 3-4, scoring two runs and driving in two. First baseman McNamee and Knuf each went 2-4 in the afternoon matchup, scoring two runs a piece. The Beavers out hit the Poets 14 to 9 in the nightcap. Yee closed the ninth inning of the doubleheader sweep and the rare SCIAC series win for Caltech.

The baseball weekend wrapped up with the Beavers hosting Walt Whitman College from Walla Walla, Washington. Coming off of the enthusiastic conference series win, the Beaver's bats were quieted by the Whitman pitchers for much of the afternoon. The lone spark offensively was centerfielder Warren, who went 2-3.  Pitching highlights from the 17-4 defeat at the hands of Whitman, included the work of sophomore Kyle Reese (Sammamish, Wash. / Skyline) who in two innings of work, allowed two hits and one run. Additionally, sophomore right hander Danny Collinson (West Chester, Pa. / Henderson) in his one inning of work, allowed one hit and no runs.

Up next for Head Coach Kevin Whitehead and the Beavers is a small break for finals week. Their next contest is slated for 3:00 pm on Friday, March 18, as they host the Carleton College Knights (Northfield, Minn.) in a three-game, non-conference series. Please visit www.GoCaltech.com for information on live stats, livestreaming, and game results.