Caltech Junior Garrett Levine Connects for Six Hits in Chapman Series

Photo by Ellen Bublick Junior Garrett Levine (Columbus, Ohio / Columbus Academy) collected a team-high six hits over Caltech’s weekend baseball series against Chapman University. The Beavers battled the Panthers first at Chapman on Friday before returning to North Field for a Saturday doubleheader. Friday: Caltech 3, Chapman 10 Sophomore Connor Moffatt (Charleston, W.Va. / […]

Photo by Ellen Bublick

Junior Garrett Levine (Columbus, Ohio / Columbus Academy) collected a team-high six hits over Caltech’s weekend baseball series against Chapman University. The Beavers battled the Panthers first at Chapman on Friday before returning to North Field for a Saturday doubleheader.

Friday: Caltech 3, Chapman 10

Sophomore Connor Moffatt (Charleston, W.Va. / George Washington) and freshman Cortland Perry (New York, N.Y. / The Dalton School) led the Caltech offense, albeit in two different ways. While Moffatt doubled to score senior Harrison Jacobs (Tucson, Ariz. / Catalina Foothills) in the ninth inning and finished the game with a team-best two hits, Perry picked up a hit and also walked twice. He even reached home in the fifth inning on a sacrifice fly off the bat of freshman David Adams (Atlanta, Ga. / Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School). However, all three of the Beavers’ runs came after the fourth inning as the team struggled to get runners home on a consistent basis. Caltech did manage nine team hits, however against a tough Panthers team on the road. Garrett Levine also notched one of his six hits of the series in this game, on which he plated sophomore Mark Burleson (Ladera Ranch, Calif. / Tesoro) in the eighth inning. Senior Kai Kirk (San Jose, Calif. / Wesleyan Univ.) got the start for Caltech and pitched the entire game.

Saturday Game 1: Caltech 5, Chapman 8

The Beavers had more opportunities in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader. Levine in particular really got going, raking the Panthers for three hits. Fellow junior David Watson (Windsor, Colo. / Windsor) also lifted the Beavers with three hits of his own. In a continued theme from the prior game however, Caltech came up short in scoring opportunities, this time stranding 12 runners on base. The Beavers did outhit the Panthers 13-12 and had they picked up a couple more the narrative for this game might have been drastically different. The Beavers also held a two-run lead at one point thanks to three-run fourth inning which saw first baseman Watson, along with outfielders Kai Kirk and David Adams score. Right fielder Harrison Jacobs also came perhaps a few feet away from his first home run of the season on a lining shot off the right field fence in the fourth inning.

Sophomore Jonah Krop (Santa Monica, Calif. / Santa Monica) took the mound for Caltech and kept his team in the game early by inducing nine fly-ball outs and picking up two big strikeouts in the middle innings. Krop also received help in the field, first from Kai Kirk when he robbed Gavin Blodgett of a home run with an over-the-fence grab in left field and later from catcher Mark Burleson, who caught two Panthers stealing thanks to two on-target throws from behind home plate. Senior John Galden (Columbus, Ohio / St. Charles Prep) relieved Krop and limited the damage, pitching three innings of one-run ball.

Saturday Game 2: Caltech 0, Chapman 9

Caltech had its least amount of success in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, though there were still positives to take away from the experience. Garrett Levine picked up two more hits to finish the series a cool 6-for-13 at the plate. His season average up now sits at .255, perhaps an indication that his slow start to the season is behind him. Mark Burleson also had two hits for the Beavers along with his third stolen base of the season. David Watson and freshman Alex Corado (San Diego, Calif. / Scripps Ranch) also registered hits.

Head Coach Matthew Mark and the Beavers will have their second-to-last SCIAC series of the season next weekend when they battle the Whittier College Poets (7-23, 3-12 SCIAC). Caltech’s lone home game of the series will be an Orange Out set for Friday, Apr. 14 at 3 p.m.

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