PASADENA, Calif. and CLAREMONT, Calif. — The Caltech baseball team hosted the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Stags on Friday afternoon for the first game of a three-game tilt before the Beavers traveled east for the final two contests on Saturday.

Game 1: CMS 13 @ Caltech 1 (7 inn.)

Sophomore right fielder Austin Wang (Palo Alto, Calif. / The Harker School) scored a run in the third inning after reaching on a ball put in play; the speedster advanced to third base after junior second baseman Garrett Knuf (Laguna Niguel, Calif. / Dana Hills) connected for a single to first. Junior catcher Edward Speer (Austin, Texas / Leander) registered a hard-hit ball to score Wang, putting Caltech within two runs.

Wang recorded a huge hit later in the game as he doubled down the right field line.

In the field, Caltech recorded three double plays across the game's seven innings.

The first came via a ground into double play in the top of the third, as senior pitcher Leo Jenkins (New York, N.Y. / Beacon) threw a pitch which a CMS batter hit back to the mound; Jenkins threw the ball to sophomore shortstop Brendan Flaherty (Narragansett, R.I. / Lake Forest Academy), who stepped on second base before firing the ball to junior first baseman Cameron McNamee (Great Falls, Mont. / Great Falls).

The Beavers fielded their second double play with junior right-handed pitcher Ryan Wong (Chicago, Ill. / Lane Tech College Prep) on the mound with one out and bases loaded. The opposing batter hit the ball to Flaherty, who quickly stepped on second base before throwing the ball to McNamee on first. The batter beat the throw, though McNamee realized a CMS baserunner had rounded third too far and was retreating; McNamee immediately hurled the ball to sophomore third baseman Mark Hu (San Jose, Calif. / The Harker School), who tagged the player out for the double play.

Caltech recorded one more double play as sophomore Luke Lamitina (Pittsburgh, Penn. / Winchester Thurston) forced a batter into a ground ball to Flaherty in the seventh; the fielder threw the ball to Knuf on second who then doubled up the Stags as he fired the ball to first for the out.

Game 2: Caltech 1 @ CMS 24 (7 inn.)

Junior center fielder Jack Fishel (Baltimore, Md. / Boys' Latin School of Maryland) scored in the fourth inning after leading off with a single to left field. The standout advanced to second and third on hit-by-pitches before senior third baseman Gautam Chawla (Princeton, N.J. / Princeton HS) hit a deep sacrifice fly to right field to score Fishel.

On the mound, Hu let up no runs and just one hit in his two innings pitched; the team tied CMS in strikeouts with four.

Game 3: Caltech 4 @ CMS 5

The Beavers saved their strongest offensive and defensive performances for their final SCIAC clash of the season. The group nabbed the lead in the sixth inning at 4-3 before being walked off in the bottom of the ninth.

At the plate, Caltech tied CMS in both hits (six) and players with at least one hit (five). Four different Beavers recorded an RBI with one player sending a ball over the fence for a home run. 

A leadoff error by an opposing fielder in the third inning put Flaherty on first base before Fishel singled to the third base area, advancing Flaherty into scoring position. Hu was hit-by-pitch on the next at-bat before junior right fielder Thorsen Kristufek (McKinney, Texas / McKinney) drew a walk, scoring Flaherty.

A well-timed single to right field from Jenkins scored Fishel before senior secondbaseman Patrick Donahoe (New York, N.Y. / Bronx School of Science) singled to third base, scoring Hu and tying the game up at 3-3.

A massive solo homer to center field from first-year left fielder Kailen Hargenrader (Bethesda, Md. / The Maret School) put the Beavers up 4-3 in the top of the sixth before CMS tied it up in the seventh. The Stags squeaked out the victory in the ninth as they scored off a home run.

On the mound, McNamee threw a career-high nine strikeouts in his 6.0 innings; the star tied the number of strikeouts thrown collectively by all four CMS pitchers.

The Beavers recorded zero errors across the game's nine innings.

Head coach Kevin Whitehead and the team will see their final action of this season this Saturday, May 4 as the group takes on Bethesda University (Calif.) at home. Game 1 begins at 11 a.m. with Game 2 scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. Please join us as we honor the program's graduating seniors; follow along online at gocaltech.com/coverage.

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