PASADENA, Calif. — It was an offensive showdown on Tuesday afternoon as the Caltech baseball team faced off against the Bethesda University Flames in a nonconference clash at North Field.

It was the visitors who scored the first two runs of the contest though Caltech quickly responded in the third inning. Junior catcher Edward Speer (Austin, Texas / Leander) reached first base on a hit through the left side before advancing into scoring position via a ball put in play by sophomore right fielder Austin Wang (Palo Alto, Calif. / The Harker School). A massive single to center field by junior center fielder Jack Fishel (Baltimore, Md. / Boys' Latin School of Maryland) brought Speer home; on the next at-bat, junior designated hitter Thorsen Kristufek (McKinney, Texas / McKinney) singled through the left side to bring home rookie left fielder Kailen Hargenrader (Bethesda, Md. / The Maret School), who reached on a walk.

Bethesda broke the 2-2 tie in the next inning with three more runs, though the Beavers yet again matched in the bottom of the frame. Sophomore second baseman Mark Hu (San Jose, Calif. / The Harker School) led off the fourth with a hard-hit single before scoring on a fielding error by the Flames; senior third baseman Leo Jenkins (New York, N.Y. / Beacon) then came home on a wild pitch. A single from Wang pushed sophomore shortstop Brendan Flaherty (Narragansett, R.I. / Lake Forest Academy) into scoring position after reaching on a hit-by-pitch; the Beaver scored after Hargenrader hit a deep sacrifice fly to centerfield.

Caltech took the lead in the fifth inning with Hu yet again leading off. This time, the San Jose native connected on a deep shot to left center for his first of two doubles on the day. A single through the right side from Jenkins pushed Hu to third; Jenkins stole second on the next at-bat.

A well-timed single through the left side from Speer brought Hu home before a ball put in play from Hargenrader scored Jenkins. A good single from Fishel sent home Flaherty, who again reached after getting hit by a pitch.

The Beavers made it 9-6 in the sixth inning as junior first baseman Cameron McNamee (Great Falls, Mont. / Great Falls) singled up the middle before advancing to second on a wild pitch; a ball put in play from Jenkins pushed the first baseman to third before he scored on a bases-loaded walk.

Caltech came up with their strongest offensive showing in the seventh as they scored four runs to take the 13-12 lead. A single to right field put Kristufek on base before McNamee walked; a wild pitch advanced the runners to second and third before Jenkins connected on a monumental double to left field, scoring Kristufek and McNamee. A huge double from Flaherty to left center brought home Hu, who reached on a walk, and Jenkins.

The team posted their 14th run in the eighth inning as Hu registered his second double of the afternoon to score Hargenrader, who reached on a base-on-balls.

Fishel, Hu and Speer led the team with three hits a piece.

Speer and Jenkins notched three RBIs while Fishel, Flaherty, Hargenraider finished with two; Hu and Kristufek each added one.

On the mound, senior Kyle Reese (Sammamish, Wash. / Skyline) struck out three batters while three other Beavers recorded one a piece. Sophomore Jacob Alderete (Murrieta, Calif. / Murrieta Mesa) let up one hit in nine batters faced.

Next up for head coach Kevin Whitehead and the team is an interconference battle this Friday, Mar. 22 as Caltech travels east for action against the University of La Verne Leopards. First pitch is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.; follow along online at gocaltech.com/coverage.

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