By Zach DeMarcus
March 15, 2019
 
(ATHERTON, Calif.) #5 Westmont Baseball (21-2, 8-2 GSAC) survived an uncharacteristically poor defensive performance this afternoon. The three errors in the two games gave the Oaks some life, but the Warriors still took both ends of today's Golden State Athletic Conference doubleheader against Menlo (6-9, 2-5 GSAC) by scores of 9-8 and 6-4.
 
Right-hander Grant Gardner (6-0) took the mound for the Warriors in game one. Gardner went six and two-thirds innings in the win while giving up seven runs, six earned, on 10 hits with one strikeout and two walks.
 
Westmont wasted no time getting on the board as they struck for two in the top of the first. Taylor Garcia led off the game with a drawn walk. Tyler Roper followed by being hit by a pitch – Paul Mezurashi came on as the courtesy runner. Taylor Bush drew a walk to load the bases. Bryce Morison cashed in with a two-RBI single center field to score Garcia and Mezurashi.
 
The Oaks quickly responded in the bottom of the first. Donny Bendo hit a lead-off single to right field. Nick Adgar followed with a single – Bendo advanced to third on an error by the shortstop. Dalton Maxwell hit an RBI single to right field to score Bendo – brining the score to 2-1 in favor of the Warriors after one.
 
Menlo tied the game at two in the bottom of the second. Brice Foster hit a 1-0 pitch over the left field fence for a one-out solo home run.
 
The Warriors responded two innings later with a four-spot in the top of the fourth. Nicky Sablock reached on an error by the left fielder and advanced to second base to lead off the inning. Isaiah Leach singled to right field – pushing Sablock to third. Travis Vander Molen reached on an error by the shortstop – Sablock scored and Leach advanced to second. Austin Muller made the Oaks pay by hammering a three-run home run to left field to put the Warriors up 6-2 through four.
 
Westmont extended their lead in the top of the seventh. Bush led off with a single to center field. Morison reached on an error by the second baseman – Bush was called out at second on the play. Sablock followed by drawing a one-out walk. Leach singled to left field to load the bases.
 
Vander Molen hit a two-RBI single to right field to plate Morison and Sablock while pushing Leach to third. Muller completed the three-run rally with an RBI single to center to score Leach – giving Westmont the 9-2 advantage through six and a half innings. Muller finished the game going two for five with four RBIs.
 
The Oaks responded with five in the bottom of the seventh. With one out, Christopher Lopez singled to center field. After a fly out, Foster hit a two-out double – moving Lopez to third. Dawson Campbell drew a walk to load the bases. Travis Danielson came on as the pinch hitter and a hit a three-RBI double to clear the bases.
 
Bendo kept the two-out rally going with an RBI single to score Danielson. Adgar followed with an RBI double down the left field line to score Bendo – all five runs in the inning came with two outs.
 
Kody McLain came on to relieve Gardner and after issuing a walk would entice a groundout to end the inning. McLain surrendered a solo home run in the eighth to Shane Jones. The solo shot brought the Oaks within one of the Warriors though eight at 9-8.
 
McLain came back out in the ninth. After giving up a lead-off walk, he struck out the next batter. He then gave up a single. Westmont elected to go to the bullpen and bring in Bailey Reid to attempt to close out the game. Reid forced a groundout to first – allowing the tying and winning runs to advance to second and third with two outs. With a 2-2 count on the next hitter, Reid got the Oaks hitter to strikeout swinging to end the game and pick up his fifth save of the season.
 
Cory Dawson took the mound for the Warriors in game two. Dawson picked up his fifth win of the season as he went six and a third innings and gave up four runs, three earned, on four hits while striking out eight against three walks.
 
Westmont, again, wasted no time getting on the scoreboard as they would score one in the top of the first. Roper hit a one-out single to center field – Mezurashi came on to run. Bush reached on a fielder's choice with Mezurashi out at second. Morison was awarded first base after a catcher's interference call. Sablock then hit an RBI single to right field to score Bush.
 
The Warriors added three in the top of the fifth. Garcia led off the inning with a single. Roper squared for a sacrifice bunt and reached on an error by the pitcher – leaving runners on first and second with no outs. Mezurashi came on to run for Roper. Bush moved Garcia and Mezurashi to second and third with a sacrifice bunt. The bunt wouldn't matter as Morison hit a 2-2 pitch over the left field fence for a three-run homerun – extending Westmont's lead to 4-0.
 
Menlo scored their first run of game two in the bottom of the fifth. Foster singled to shortstop and advanced to second on a throwing error. Foster advanced to third after a groundout to second base. Andrew Cox reached on an error by the third baseman – Foster came home as an unearned run on the play.
 
Westmont added another run in the top of the sixth to go up 5-1. Vander Molen led off the innings with a single. Muller was then hit by a pitch – Mezurashi came on as a pinch runner for Vander Molen. Chad Jones sacrificed Mezurashi and Muller to second and third with a bunt. Garcia was intentionally walked to load the bases. Roper then doubled in Mezurashi – Muller was thrown out at home on the play.
 
The Warriors scored their sixth run of the game from a Sablock sacrifice fly in the seventh – Morison scored on the play.
 
Down 1-6 in the bottom of the seventh the Oaks attempted to stage a comeback. Jones led off the inning with a single. He then advanced to second on a passed ball and to third after a fly out to center field. Foster singled to third base. Matt Palomino hit an RBI single to center to score Jones and move Foster to second. Cox then drew a walk to load the bases.
 
This is where Dawson's afternoon came to an end and Westmont brought Reid back for his second appearance of the day. Bendo drew a walk to bring in a run. Adgar followed with a fly out to right field – all three runners advanced on the fly out.
 
This brought the score to 6-4 with the tying run on second base. Reid settled in and coaxed Maxwell to fly out to center field to end the game while picking up his second save of the day and sixth of the season.
 
The Warriors and the Oaks will continue their four-game GSAC series tomorrow with a doubleheader beginning at 11:00 a.m.