The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps baseball team (10-24, 8-17 SCIAC) was looking for some valuable wins against Whittier College (14-21, 11-13 SCIAC) on Friday and Saturday, Apr. 22 and 23. This series helped the Stags prepare for their last few matches of the season.
On Friday, Apr. 22, the Stags kicked off the weekend with a stunning 13-1 performance. Pitcher Sam Baughman CM ’17 threw 85 pitches and gave up only three hits in the seven-inning merci. Trey Smith CM ’18 was critical in the Stags’ victory, hitting for the cycle with a two-run homerun in the top of the seventh.
Despite CMS’ dominant victory, the Poets would not yield; Whittier responded aggressively to the Stags on Saturday, with back-to-back wins (11-1, 10-5). While CMS earned their run from a homerun by Chase Eller CM ’18 in the morning match, triples from Jack Witte CM ’16 and Smith livened the Stags’ offense in the afternoon.
Following its weekend against the Poets, CMS took a 6-2 win over top-ranked SCIAC powerhouse Occidental College (28-7, 20-5 SCIAC) on Wednesday, Apr. 27. The Stags played impeccable defense all game long, and Baughman had another solid seven-inning outing. Relief pitcher John O’Malley CM ’18 closed the game with two scoreless innings.
After beating the best team in SCIAC, CMS will face off against Chapman University (23-14, 17-8 SCIAC) and University of Redlands (24-11, 16-8 SCIAC) on Sunday, May 1 and Tuesday, May 2 respectively, in their last matches of the season. But before these games, CMS plays the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens (17-18, 10-14 SCIAC) in a Claremont Colleges battle on Saturday, Apr. 30.