PASADENA, Calif. (Apr. 30, 2022) - On a spectacular weekend for baseball, the Caltech Beavers took on the Tigers of Occidental College in a three-game set to wrap up the 2022 campaign.  Beginning with an afternoon clash in Eagle Rock on Friday, the series, and season, was completed with a Senior Day celebration and doubleheader on Saturday on North Field on the Caltech campus.

 

Striving to get out of the gates early and apply some pressure to their opponents, the Beavers got their last series of the year off to a great start and built a 3-1 lead midway through the third inning. Unfortunately, they couldn't sustain the advantage against the host Tigers and ended up losing the ballgame 13-3 in seven innings. Offensive stars for the Beavers included senior Dawson Beutler (Omaha, Neb. / Millard West) who went 2-3 on the afternoon, scoring a run as well as having one RBI. Freshman Jack Fishel (Baltimore, Md. / Boys' Latin School of Maryland) went 1-3 while also scoring a run and driving in one.  Both Beutler and Fishel runs scored and RBI's were a result of solo home runs that both hammered.

 

Before the first pitch of Saturday's doubleheader, the Beavers honored six seniors, and their families, on the field.  In a fitting tribute to these student-athletes who have given much to the program over their college career, Head Coach Kevin Whitehead acknowledged Dawson Beutler, William Cook (El Segundo, Calif. / Windward School), Pierce Governale (Tampa, Fla. / Berkeley Preparatory School), Ryan Ruscansky (Annandale, N.J. / North Hunterdon), Spiro Stameson (Newport Beach, Calif. / Newport Harbor), and Matthew Szedlock (Westminster, Md. / Gerstell Academy).

 

Offensively, freshman catcher Edward Speer (Austin, Texas / Leander) went 2-3 in the morning contest while Cook, who started the game in centerfield, went 1-3 with a run scored. But the Beavers' offensive fireworks came off of the bat of junior Will Dembski (Pella, Iowa / Pella Christian).  He went 1-4 with one run scored, driving in three as he launched his tenth home run of the season, good for second overall in the SCIAC this year.  In addition, Dembski finished the year with 30 RBI, finishing 16^th in the conference, while his .357 batting average was good for 17^th in the SCIAC.  The game was started on the mound by Beutler who took the loss on the afternoon, turning in his most challenging pitching performance of the season.  With the loss, Beutler finished the season 2-7, with his two wins good enough to place 26^th in wins in the 2022 SCIAC.   In spite of the efforts, the Beavers were swimming upstream throughout much of the contest, losing 21 to 4.

 

Coach Whitehead handed the ball to senior Ruscansky, who entered the contest with a 4-8 pitching record in 2022.  Ruscansky's staff-leading win total, was strong enough to place twelfth in the SCIAC, while also leading the team and finishing 33^rd in the conference with 28 strikeouts of his opponents on the year.  While this was a challenging outing overall for the Beavers' staff, Ruscansky, Matthew Cox (Dallas, Texas / Jesuit Dallas), and sophomore Leo Jenkins  (New York, N.Y. / Beacon) combined to walk one batter, while striking out four.  Offensively, Dembski again was the hitting star going 2-4, while Beutler, wearing the Beavers uniform for the last time, went 1-3 with a run scored.  Cook, also in his final game, went 1-2 with one run scored.  The Tigers proved to be inhospitable guests taking the doubleheader nightcap with a score of 15-2.

 

To close out the year, the Beavers finished the season at 6-31 (2-21 SCIAC). The staff and players look forward to the 2023 season that will get underway next February.  To follow all action related to Caltech Baseball, as well as all things Caltech Athletics, please visit www.GoCaltech.com