PASADENA, Calif. — The Caltech baseball team competed in their penultimate series of the season over the weekend as the Beavers faced the No. 20-ranked squad from Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. Caltech traveled to Claremont for Game 1 of the series before the Beavers hosted Games 2 and 3, pushing the Stags to the wire in both contests. The program honored its four graduating seniors – Jack Warren, Arya Mevada, Steven Yee and Will Dembski – with a ceremony during the break between Saturday's games.
After dropping Game 1 on Friday afternoon, the Beavers would put up a far stronger fight in Games 2 and 3 on their own turf in Saturday's doubleheader. The team put in excellent performances across both contests, as the Beavers held a 5-4 lead after eight innings in the opening game of the day and a 9-8 lead through seven innings in the second one.
Caltech would strike first in Saturday's opening game, which saw three ties and three lead changes over the course of ten innings. Sophomore left fielder Jack Fishel led off the frame with a single before Warren, the all-time single-season hits leader, connected on a single of his own.
Fishel would later score on a balk before sophomore right fielder Thorsen Kristufek rocketed a double to ground-rule double to left field to score Warren. A triple from shortstop Mark Hu scored Kristufek, giving the Beavers a 3-0 advantage after one inning.
The Stags would tie it up by the fourth inning and take the 4-3 lead through the middle of the eighth; the Beavers, however, would respond with two runs of their own in the bottom of the inning. A double from Fishel would put a runner in scoring position; a single to right field from Kristufek would score Fishel and Dembski, who reached on an intentional walk.
With Caltech up 5-4, CMS would put in another run in the ninth to make it 5-5 before scoring two more runners to go up 7-5 on the Beavers.
With just three outs remaining as the game entered the bottom of the ninth, head coach Kevin Whitehead sent first-year pinch hitter Sayuj Choudhari to the plate. The decision paid off, as Choudhari connected on a ball to right field for a one-out single.
With the team down to their final out as the frame continued, the Beavers needed something special; it was Fishel that delivered that something, as he took a big swing at a ball that carried deep into left field for a game-tying home run. It was the sophomore's third deep shot of the season.
The Beavers would retire the side, forcing the game to extra innings. The Beavers notched 15 hits in the contest – the most versus a conference opponent this season.
Junior right-handed pitcher Leo Jenkins pitched 4.1 innings in the contest, giving up just one earned run.
The second game of the day saw CMS jump out to the 2-0 lead, though the Beavers would respond in the bottom of the second with four runs. With the bases loaded and no outs, Hu scored on a double play ball that moved sophomore infielder Garret Knuf to third base. Back-to-back walks loaded the bases, and then a hit batsman scored Knuf, chasing the CMS starter. Jenkins then knocked a two-RBI single into right field to drive home Warren and Fishel.
Down 4-2 after three innings, CMS came back with four runs to take a 6-4 lead in the middle of the fifth, but the Beavers put on a small ball clinic in the bottom half, stringing together four consecutive singles by Dembski, Jenkins, Kristufek and then Hu, scoring Dembski and leaving the bases loaded. Two outs later, sophomore catcher Edward Speer lifted a ball into center field to score Kristufek and Jenkins. Caltech led 7-6 after five.
The sixth and seventh innings saw the teams trade runs again, CMS tying the game at 7-7, but Dembski extended his home run total with a one-out belt to left to make it a one-run game once more. The Stags tied the score at 8-8 in the top of the seventh, and this time Speer hit a solo shot to left with two outs in the bottom of the frame to put Caltech on top again, 9-8.
CMS threatened in the top of the eighth, bringing two baserunners aboard with two outs, but first-year Brendan Flaherty took over at the mound and induced a pop-out to escape the inning unscathed.
Jenkins batted .500 for the series with five singles and 3 RBI. Dembski and Kristufek each batted .364 with .727 slugging by way of their two singles, a double and a home run each. Fishel and Dembski each scored four runs over the weekend; Kristufek followed with three runs scored and a team-high four RBI.
Head Coach Kevin Whitehead and the Beavers will wrap up their home schedule on Friday, May 5 at 3pm. Watch live at the North Field or tune in at https://sciacnetwork.com/caltech.
