CMS Baseball Comes Back in Ninth Twice to Sweep Caltech

PASADENA, Calif. - The 20th-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps baseball team trailed in the ninth inning of both games of its doubleheader at Caltech, but came through both times to earn 8-7 (10 innings) and 11-9 wins on Saturday afternoon.

With the wins, CMS has now won 10 straight games and stands at 27-7 overall on the year and 17-4 in SCIAC, moving within one-half game of first place La Verne (17-3), which still has a game left with Whittier tomorrow. Regardless of the outcome of that contest, the winner of the CMS-La Verne series next weekend will be the top seed in the SCIAC Tournament. 

Tyler Shaw had eight hits in the doubleheader, going 3-for-6 in the opening game, and then 5-for-6 in the nightcap, which included the game-tying RBI in the ninth inning. Julian Sanders had the game-winning RBI in both games, breaking a 7-7 tie in the 10th with an RBI groundout, and then snapping a 9-9 tie in the nightcap with a ground-rule double. 

The Stags trailed 5-4 going into the ninth inning of the opener, but Jack Potter led off with a four-pitch walk, moved to second on a groundout, and third on a passed ball. Paul Roche then lined out to right field to score Potter with the tying run. 

With two outs and nobody on, the Stags kept the offensive pressure on as Nick Wilson singled to right to re-start the rally, Bryce Didrickson walked to put two runners on, and Derek Seneker came through with a clutch two-run double to put CMS ahead 7-5. 

However, with Caltech down to its final out, Jack Fishel hit a two-run homer to tie the score and force the game into extra innings. In the tenth, William DeForest walked, moved to second on a wild pitch, and then went to third on a Shaw single. Sanders then plated him with an RBI groundout to second to make the score 8-7, and Andrew Blackett allowed only a single in the bottom half to finish off the game and earn the win. 

Roche finished the opening game 4-for-5 with three RBI for CMS, while Shaw was 3-for-6, and Potter, DeForest, Seneker and Mitchell Mashiko each had two hits. 

In the nightcap, CMS found itself down 9-8 heading into the ninth, when Cade Kritsch set the table, leading off with a single, and stealing second, before advancing to third on a throwing error. Shaw then played him with his fifth hit of the game to tie the score 9-9, still with nobody out. 

Potter drew a walk to put two runners on and bring Sanders to the plate, and Sanders made a bid for his 14th homer, which would set a new program record, but settled for a one-hopper over the wall that made it 10-9. Wilson added a sacrifice fly to make it 11-9, and Jake Tracey retired the side in order in the bottom of the ninth to pick up the win. 

In addition to the 5-for-6 effort from Shaw, Wilson was 3-for-5 with a home run and four RBI, Sanders was 3-for-6, and Kritsch was 2-for-4 with two RBI

CMS will face La Verne next weekend in a three-game set, including a single game at La Verne on Friday and a doubleheader in Claremont on Saturday (at Pomona-Pitzer field). Whoever wins two out of three will end up with the top seed in the SCIAC Tournament.