Westmont Baseball (26-14, 17-13 GSAC) extended its winning streak to five games by sweeping Arizona Christian (13-27, 5-25) in a Golden State Athletic Conference doubleheader on Thursday afternoon at Russ Carr Field. Westmont took the first game 14-4 and then shutout the Firestorm 9-0 in the seven-inning second game.
Torin Shaikh (6-3) earned the win in the first game, allowing one run on five hits in six innings of work. Shaikh struck out four and walked two Sam Sheehan added two scoreless innings in relief allowing three hits while striking out five and walking one.
The Warriors scored in every inning except two as they exploded for 14 hits. Alex Bushed sent two balls over the outfield fence with a lead-off homerun in the bottom of the fourth and a three-run home run in the fifth. Bush also singled in the seventh to go three for four with two runs and four RBIs.
Blake Mathias also cleared the fence with a two-run pinch-hit home run in the seventh. Steven Pollex produced a rare in-the-park home leading off the fifth inning.
In the second game, Russell Harmening (10-2) pitched all seven innings to record his second complete game shutout of the year. Harmening allowed six hits, struck out eight and did not allow a walk.
At the plate, the Warriors continued their hitting spree, producing 11 hits. Mathias hit another two-run home run in the nightcap, this one coming in the fifth inning. On the day, Mathias was two for two, both home runs, with two runs scored and four RBIs in two plate appearances.
With the pair of conference wins, Westmont finds itself in fifth place in the conference standings, one-half game out of fourth, one game out of third, one and one-half games out of second and three and one-half games out of first. The Warriors have six GSAC games remaining – three next week at Arizona Christian and three at home against The Master's on the final weekend of the month.
Before resuming GSAC play, the Warriors will take on Antelope Valley in back-to-back doubleheaders the rest of this week. Friday, the Warriors and Pioneers will play at Russ Carr Field beginning at noon. Then on Saturday, the clubs will move to Lancaster with first pitch scheduled for one o'clock.
