Chris Plance put together seven scoreless innings of relief and Warrior hitters erupted for five runs in the sixth inning as Westmont Baseball (6-2) posted an 8-5 victory over #10 British Columbia (3-4) on Thursday afternoon at Russ Carr Field. Plance took over for Dan Cabuling at the start of the third inning and closed out the game, allowing just four hits. The senior struck out two and did not allow a walk.
"It is good to see the guys go out there and go hard," said Plance about his team. "Everybody was cheering and staying up the entire game. I was able to feed off that and stay focused. It is a tribute to the whole team staying in it. It was a good team effort."
Cabuling struggled in the top of the first inning, allowing four runs on three hits. The Warriors took one run back in the bottom half of the opening frame. Tim Leary hit a two-out triple down the left field line, driving in Jordan Bottenfield who had reached on a walk.
The Warriors gave the run right back, however, in the top of the second. Ryan Taylor led off with a single and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Mike Elias. One out later, Taylor scored when Keaton Briscoe singled to right center.
In the bottom half of the second, Colton Christianson lead off with a single through the left side. One out later, Chris Ramirez singled through the right side, advancing Christianson to second. Then a walk to catcher Jarratt Rouse loaded the bases with Warriors. Westmont picked up one run when Fukushima was hit by a pitch and picked up a second when JJ Turbin ground out to second base.
Bottenfield again walked to load the bases and bring up Leary. That chased British Columbia starter David Otterman from the mound. Danny Britton-Frost was called in from the pen to face Leary and struck out the big power hitter to end the threat with the score 5-3 in favor of the Thunderbirds.
With Plance in for the Warriors and Britton-Frost in for the Thunderbirds, the rapid scoring pace slowed considerably. Neither team scored again until Westmont came up in the sixth inning.
Christianson led off the inning with an infield single and advanced to second on Mitch Petrack's single to left. Then Ramirez singled to center to load the bases with no outs. Rouse stepped to the plate and was hit by a pitch, forcing in a run and bringing up Fukushima the Warriors' leadoff batter. Stephen Motush replaced Rouse on first as a courtesy runner.
Fukushima lined a double into the left-centerfield gap which Elias, playing in left field, was just able to cut off before the ball got past him. Christianson and Petrack scored on the play and Motush headed to third. Elias tried to get Fukushima at second, but his throw went wide and bounded toward the visiting first-base dugout. Motush dashed for home and Fukushima scampered to third. UBC first baseman Kevin Nickel picked up the errant throw and tried to throw out Motush at home. However, his throw also missed the mark and Fukushima was able to cross home plate for the fifth run of the inning.
Up 8-5, Plance returned to the mound for the top of the seventh inning.
"It fired me up," said Plance about resuming his duties with a three-run cushion. "Feeding off of each other's energy is something we do really well as a team. When we were able to put up those five runs, it gave me energy and allowed me to refocus and go out there and pitch."
As a result of the win, Westmont is off to its best start in recent memory. Not since 1976 has Westmont posted a record of 6-2 in its first eight games of the season.
"I can't tell you the joy that comes to my heart," said Plance reflecting on the team's early success. "We have a great group of guys and we are playing well.
"We have had good teams in the past. What is different about this team is that we are committed to each other. We all know each other well and are trying to build each other up – first to become better Christians. We want to do all this for the glory of God. It is not just a cliché, it is real to us.
"In the past we have been focused on building up the perception. This year we are not worried about the perception; we really want to change our own hearts. That has mixed really well with the ability to come out here every day and work hard and support each other. These are all great guys. I am excited for the future of this program and I am excited for this season."
The season was supposed to resume on Friday with a three-game series against Menlo at Russ Carr Field. However, the threat of rain has forced a rescheduling of the weekend's contests. On Saturday, Menlo and Westmont will play a single game at two o'clock if the weather permits. Then on Sunday, a make-up doubleheader has been scheduled beginning at noon.
