By Ron Smith
April 7, 2018
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) Westmont Baseball (26-13, 19-11 GSAC) swept both games of a doubleheader against #8 William Jessup (31-13, 23-7) and in so doing clinched a spot in next month's Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament. The Warriors scored once in the ninth inning to win the opener by a score of 4-3, then rallied in the fifth inning to claim the nightcap 4-2.
 
David Gaydos started the first game for the Warriors against one of the most potent offenses in the NAIA. The Jessup lineup featured eight hitters with a batting average over .300, led by left fielder Joe Starick who entered the game with a GSAC-leading .451 average.
 
Gaydos pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing just four hits while striking out five and walking three.
 
"David showed that he is continuing to push himself to be a leader in this program," said Westmont head coach Robert Ruiz. "He put himself in some rough spots, but he pitched out of them. He wasn't perfect, but he was a competitor and he was a winner. I am really proud of his performance today. He carried our team and gave us a chance to win the game. He kept attacking his plan and did a phenomenal job leading our team to that victory."
 
William Jessup was the first to threaten offensively, loading the bases with just one away in the top of the second. Gaydos coaxed designated hitter Conner Braun into a ground ball to third. Luke Coffey fielded the grounder and fired to Tyler Roper at home for the force play. Roper tried to turn the double play, but Braun beat the throw, leaving the bases loaded. Shortstop Sam Curtis then tapped the ball back to Gaydos, whose toss to first ended the threat.
 
In the top of the third, catcher Cal Koga delivered a two-out single before Starick came up to the plate. Starick hit a soft line drive to short center field that gave all appearances of producing a hit. However, Westmont shortstop Taylor Bush dashed toward center and dove for a spectacular catch to retire the side.
 
"That is not an easy play to make," said Ruiz. "Taylor sold out, made an athletic play and good things happened."
 
The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the third inning. With two away, Travis Vander Molen obliterated the first pitch he saw, sending the ball over the batting cage next to the right-field foul pole for a solo home run.
 
Jessup threatened again in the top of the sixth inning. A walk to left fielder Joe Starick was followed by a single to left by Braun. With runners at first and second and no outs, first baseman Noah Shackles hit a ground ball to third. Coffey scooped up the ball, stepped on third to retire Starick. Coffey then fired to Michael Stefanic in time to get Braun at second. Stefanic then relayed the ball to Vander Molen at first just ahead of Shackles to complete the 5-4-3 triple play.
 
The triple play was the first by the Warriors since April 27, 2011 when Brandon Allen produced an unassisted triple play against Azusa Pacific at Russ Carr Field.
 
"In nine years at Westmont, I've been a part of two triple plays," said Ruiz. "Fortunately, we've turned them both. That was such a bang-bang play. Every guy reacted the way they are supposed to. Their instincts took over. We don't practice triple plays. Mike was at the bag early, Luke gave him a good feed, the ball led us right to the third base bag. If there is such a thing as a tailor-made triple play, that might have been it. It takes pristine execution to be able to do it. It's fun to be a part of that."
 
The fired-up Warriors carried their enthusiasm into the bottom half of the inning, beginning with a lead-off double into left field by Coffey. Bush delivered an infield single that allowed Coffey to take third. However, throw from the Jessup shortstop was wild and got passed Shackles at first, allowing Coffey to score and Bush to take second.
 
After right fielder Austin Muller was hit by a pitch, left fielder Brodie Weiss laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance Muller and Bush to second and third respectively. Center fielder Bryce Morrison drove the ball left into field to bring in Bush on a sacrifice fly, giving the Warriors a 3-0 lead.
 
In the top of the eighth, Koga pounded a two-run home run over the left field fence to pull Jessup to within one run. In the top of the ninth, Starick singled into right field to drive in Andrews Shaps from second base, tying the score at three.
 
In the bottom of the ninth, Curtis, who had been playing at shortstop for Jessup, took the hill for the northern Warriors. Stefanic greeted the new pitcher with a lead-off single on Curtis' first pitch. After Hayden Euper pinch ran for Stefanic, Coffey ground out to second as Euper advanced to second. Bush was intentionally walked before Muller struck out for the second out of the inning.
 
Senior Justin McPhail pinch hit for Hoyer-Pingle, who had taken over defensively for Weiss in left field. McPhail earned a five-pitch walk to load the bases. Senior Scott Singh then pinch hit for Morrison. Singh notched a game-winning RBI on a four-pitch walk.
 
"It was disappointing giving up the lead," acknowledged Ruiz, "but we were able to give Justin McPhail and Scott Singh an opportunity at the end of the game to go win it for us. They haven't had a lot of opportunities. They are seniors who are unbelievable teammates.
 
"As a staff, our guts said that these guys are poised and ready for this opportunity. We needed a different look. I couldn't be prouder of those at bats. It is hard when you have not hit live in a real game in a while to be patient and get strikes. The natural tendency is to swing at the first pitch you see.
 
"Both of them had ultra-competitive at bats against a really good pitcher in Sam Curtis. He shut us down earlier in the year. For them to draw walks in that situation showed great leadership and was a great reflection of their selflessness. Those were selfless at bats. Good baseball teams have a lot of unselfish play. Those guys have been unselfish every year they have been here."
 
Justin Sanders (5-1) took the bump in the second game and was awarded the win after pitching five and two-thirds innings. Sanders allowed two runs on seven hits. He struck out three and walked two. Cory Dawson earned his second save of the year by retiring all four batters he faced - one by strike out – with just 12 pitches.
 
"Technically, Cory pitched an inning and a third, but I feel like he pitched seven innings," said Ruiz. "What most people don't see is that we had him up in the bullpen about six times in the first game. Cory is a great pitcher who has matured a ton and continues to get better. He went out to play to win and we got to see his best stuff. It was a big time outing by him."
 
Jessup scored their only runs of the game before recording an out. After second baseman Kawaiola Takemura singled up the middle to start the game, third baseman Will Law blasted a two-run home run over the right field fence.
 
"I was really proud of the way that Justin decided that he wasn't going to back down or give in," said Ruiz. "After giving up two runs to the first two batters, it would have been really easy to implode when facing as good a line-up as he was. I don't think he had his 'A' stuff, but he bared down and made pitches when he had to. I'm really proud of his outing. It's hard to do that against the best offense in the conference."
 
Westmont was held scoreless until the fifth inning when they exploded for four runs. Vander Molen's lead-off double to left got things started. Catcher Kyle Soria followed with a bunt single that gave the Warriors runners on the corners with no outs. Bush pinch ran for Vander Molen and Euper was called upon as a courtesy runner for Soria before designated hitter Taylor Garcia deposited a single in center field to drive in Bush and move Euper to second.
 
Jessup starter Andrew Shaps, who would eventually be tabbed with the loss, was removed from the game in favor of Steve Pastora. Roper came to the plate and laid down a bunt that was fielded by Pastora. However, the pitcher threw right of the first base bag, allowing Euper to score and Garcia to reach third.
 
With the score now tied at two, Stefanic was hit by a pitch, loading the bases. One pitch later, Coffey was also hit by a pitch, bringing home Garcia and moving Roper and Stefanic up one base. One out later, McPhail, who served as the left fielder in game two, took a five-pitch walk to force in Roper for the fourth run of the inning.
 
With six games remaining in the conference regular season, Westmont is currently in third place with a mark of 19-11 in GSAC play. Vanguard, which has won its last seven conference games, is one game ahead of the Warriors with a record of 20-10. The Warriors are four games behind Jessup who is in first place at 23-7.
 
The Master's is in fourth place in the GSAC standings with a record of 14-16, five games behind Westmont. Hope International currently holds fifth place - and the final qualifying spot for the GSAC Tournament - with a record of 13-17.
 
Before returning to GSAC play, Westmont will host Bethesda in a non-conference affair on Tuesday. First pitch at Russ Carr Field is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.