By Zach DeMarcus
February 9, 2018
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) Westmont Baseball (8-2, 2-2 GSAC) dropped game one of a three-game Golden State Athletic Conference series against Vanguard (5-6, 3-1 GSAC) this afternoon by a score of 10-5. The Warriors struggled to take care of the baseball – committing five errors on the day.
 
Westmont head coach Robert Ruiz said, "We came out flat. We didn't take care of the baseball on defense. We have to be better on the mound – that's not even close to where we need to be if we want to win games. We have to respond to that tomorrow."
 
Senior David Gaydos took the mound for Westmont. He was never able to get into a rhythm – as it took him 85 pitches to get through his four innings. He gave up six runs, five earned, on seven hits and struck out two.
 
The Lions struck first in the top of the first. With two away, Lucas Martinez was hit by a pitch. He then stole second. Chad Sutton followed with a single through the left side that scored Martinez – Sutton advanced to second on the throw home. Travis McFarland followed suit with an RBI single – scoring Sutton.
 
Jordan Dreibelbis took the mound for the Lions. He would surrender only three runs through eight strong innings.
 
The Warriors looked to respond in the bottom of the first with Taylor Garcia on second and two away. Todd Yost singled through the left side and Garcia rounded third for home. Vanguard's left fielder, Josh Weeks, fielded the ball and nailed Garcia at home with a stellar one-hop throw to the catcher.
 
Vanguard added three more runs in the top of the second. With one away, Joe Johnson reached first on an error by the pitcher. Julio Rivera singled through the left side. With runners on first and second, Tanner Perry connected for a three-run home run over the left field fence – his fourth of the season.
 
The Lions plated another run in the top of the fourth. Shane Elias-Calles hit a one-out double down the left field line. Martinez reached on catcher's interference. Sutton hit an RBI single up the middle to score Elias-Calles. Gaydos finished his outing and ended the fourth by picking off Martinez at second and striking out McFarland.
 
After Bay Buckley's scoreless top of the fifth, Westmont scored its first run in the bottom half of the inning. Isaiah Leach doubled to left center and was advanced to third on a groundout to first by Henry Hedeen. Kyle Soria scored Leach on a fielder's choice groundball to shortstop – brining the score to 1-6 in favor of the Lions.
 
Nolan Cannon came in to throw in the sixth inning for the Warriors. He threw two and one-third scoreless innings –giving up only two hits. Ruiz said, "I thought Nolan was outstanding. That was the one bright moment out of our day today. I thought Nolan stayed composed and didn't let the situation get too big and made some good pitches. He took care of what he needed to take care of. I'm really happy for Nolan."
 
Westmont would add a run in the seventh. William Hoyer-Pingle replaced Yost as the designated hitter and led off with a double down the right field line. Bryce Morison singled – advancing Hoyer-Pingle to third. Leach hit a sharp liner to the right fielder – scoring Hoyer-Pingle on the sacrifice fly. Hedeen and pinch hitter Zack Mendez both flied out to end the inning.
 
The Warriors added another run in the bottom of the eighth. Travis Vander Molen, who had come off the bench to play first base in the seventh inning, doubled to left center. Pinch hitter, Andrew Bayard followed with a double down the right field line to score Vander Molen – bringing the score to 3-6 through eight innings.
 
Vanguard pushed four runs across in the top of the ninth. McFarland singled up the middle and later advanced to second on a groundout by Michael Fuchs. Weeks singled up the middle – advancing McFarland to third. Pinch hitter, Sam Neufeld hit an RBI single through the left side to score McFarland. Rivera followed with an RBI single to score Weeks.
 
Perry drew a walk to load the bases. Right-hander Sean Coyne came in to relieve Cory Dawson with the bases juiced. He got Elias-Calles to fly out for the second out of the inning, but Martinez followed with a two-RBI double down the left field line. Coyne coaxed Sutton to ground out to second to finally end the inning. Vanguard extended their lead to 10-3.
 
In the bottom of the ninth, Leach reached first on a throwing error by the third baseman. Hedeen then whacked a 1-0 pitch far over the right field fence for a two-run home run – his second of the season. Soria grounded out to the shortstop. Vander Molen flied out to center field. Bush tried to kindle another offensive spark with a two-out double to left center, but it was too late as Michael Stefanic would fly out to center field to end the game.
 
"I think we found a way to piece some things together offensively and put ourselves in a position to come back into that game. I thought we were hitting the ball hard," said Ruiz. "We have to take care of the things under our control a little better. We need to throw more strikes, get ahead of hitters better, and we need to take care of the baseball on defense. It's not rocket science – we just need to play the game a little cleaner."
 
Looking ahead to tomorrow's doubleheader, Ruiz said, "We'll be here to play. We'll respond. We did it all fall and we'll do it all spring. I know we'll show up to compete and quiet the other side down a little bit. I have nothing but confidence in these guys. I know that we play pitch-to-pitch and game-to-game and we'll be here tomorrow ready to get after it. No question in my mind. I think we're probably eager to play game two right now."
 
The three-game series concludes with a doubleheader tomorrow – first pitch is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. at Russ Carr Field.