By Ron Smith
February 8, 2019
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) Senior infielders Taylor Bush and Luke Coffey each went three for five at the plate today and each drove in two runs to help #25 Westmont Baseball (4-0) defeat the Thunderbirds of British Columbia (0-4) by a score of 8-3. By so doing, Westmont extended its win streak four games.
 
"I like what I see," said Westmont head coach Robert Ruiz. "It's early, but the guys are finding ways to win games and we are winning them in different ways. That is a good sign."
 
Junior Cory Dawson took the mound for the Warriors today and was credited with the win after limiting the Thunderbirds to two runs on six hits in five and one-third innings of play.
 
"I thought Cory did a really good job commanding his fastball today," said Ruiz. "He got through the lineup one time pretty efficiently. Cory is going to be a really good pitcher. We have high hopes for him here and hopefully beyond. He minimized some situations that could have turned into game-changing innings. He made some big pitches in some big spots."
 
After three scoreless innings by both teams, Westmont got on the board first with a run in the bottom half of the fourth. With two outs, Coffey drove a shot into left-center field. Designated hitter Nick Sablock drove Coffey in with a single to right.
 
One inning later, the Warriors added three more. With one away, first baseman Alex Stufft doubled down the right field line. Jeremiah Canada came in to pinch run for Stufft and scored when left fielder Taylor Garcia singled to left.
 
Garcia stole second then advanced to third when Tyler Roper dribbled the ball down the third base line. British Columbia pitcher Daniel Sereda fielded the ball but thought better of throwing the ball to first. When Sereda looked over to third, he saw Garcia had slipped after rounding third. Garcia was caught in a run down and eventually tagged out. In the meantime Roper advanced to second.
 
With two outs and a man at second, Bush stepped to the plate and belted the ball over the left-field fence for a two-run home run and a 4-0 Westmont lead.
 
"He threw me a curve ball early in the count that I saw pretty well," reported Bush. "So, then it worked to a full count and I saw the pitch really well out of his hand. It popped up and I put a good swing on it."
 
In the top of the six, the Thunderbird hitters began to make contact with the ball. Left fielder Jordan Dray led off and doubled off the center field fence. Westmont center fielder Bryce Morison chased down the ball and fired to second. Bush applied the tag only to hear the umpire called Dray safe. However, Dray lost contact with the bag and Bush alertly applied a second tag, this time getting the out call.
 
The next two batters, however, also found the outfield with first baseman Jaxon Valcke connecting for a single to center and third baseman Nolan Weger doubling down the right field line. With men on second and third on one out, Dawson gave way to Nolan Cannon on the mound to face center fielder Wyatt Schnorr. Schnoor produced a two RBI-single to bring British Columbia within two runs (4-2). Cannon retired the next two batters to end the inning.
 
In the bottom of the sixth, Westmont responded by scoring four more runs. With one away, Morison singled to center field and then stole second. Left fielder Daniel Netz was hit by a pitch by reliever Finnigan Duffield before a passed ball allowed both runners to advance one base. A wild pitch followed that allowed Morison to score and Netz to move up to second.
 
After Travis Vander Molen was walked, Duffield threw another wild pitch that allowed Netz to score and Vander Molen to take third. One out later, Roper walked and was replaced at first by courtesy runner Paul Mezurashi. Bush came up to bat and hurried down the line to beat out an infield hit and keep the inning going. Coffey then singled to left, driving in both Vander Molen and Mezurashi.
 
British Columbia tacked on one run in the top of the seventh on an RBI-single by Dray, but that would be the last of the scoring in the seventh.
 
The Thunderbirds threatened in the top of the ninth when they loaded the bases with one away. Bailey Reid was called for out of the pen to get the final two outs. Dray hit a sacrifice fly to right field that scored Liam Vulcano and tallied the second out. Reid then struck out Valcke to end the game and record his second save of the season.
 
"It was good to see some run production out of the middle of our lineup today," said Ruiz. "It was good to see what Luke and Taylor Bush were able to do for us today. I liked the way our guys answered late. We started scoring runs late when there was a lull in the game.
 
"In times past, there were times when we would sit back and get flat footed until we absolutely had to score. Today, we tacked on runs in an important time in the game to give us a little bit of a comfortable lead."
 
"We have a bunch of really good hitters," said Bush. "It's not just the starting nine, but five or six guys on the bench can come out here and hit it any time. I love this team and am really excited for the future ahead.
 
Through the first four games, Westmont has played errorless baseball.
 
"It is obviously really early, but we have been playing consistent defense," said Ruiz. "I think that will usually keep us in games."
 
Tomorrow, Westmont and British Columbia will conclude the four-game series with a doubleheader beginning at 11:00 a.m.