Ninth-Inning Rally Helps CMS Baseball Escape With Win at Whittier

WHITTIER, Calif. - Julian Sanders had a bases-clearing double with two outs in the ninth and Paul Roche followed with a two-run homer, as the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps baseball team avoided an upset with a 9-5 comeback win at Whittier on Friday afternoon.

With the win, CMS moves to 17-6 overall and 7-3 in the SCIAC, while Whittier falls to 5-16 overall and 1-6 in conference. 

Bryce Didrickson had a two-out, two-run single in the top of the eighth to tie the score 4-4 for CMS, before Maximus Berber homered for Whittier in the bottom half to set the table for the late comeback. 

Mitchell Mashiko led off by getting on with a hit by pitch and was still on second with two outs, when Jack Potter and Nick Wilson were able to coax walks to load the bases. 

Sanders, who had three of the CMS seven hits of the day, came through with the clutch hit of the season so far, roping a three-run double that cleared the bases and put CMS in front 7-5. Roche gave the Stags more cushion when he sent a pitch over the left field fence and made it 9-5, and Lucas Welch was able to finish off the win with a scoreless ninth, ending the game by coaxing a ground ball double play.

William DeForest got CMS started with a two-run homer in the second, but Whittier was able to push four runs across in the third, and the score remained stuck at 4-2 until the eighth. Jarrett Korson went eight innings to get the win for CMS. 

The two teams will return to Claremont tomorrow to complete the three-game series with a doubleheader, which will be held at Pomona-Pitzer's home field.