Westmont College Athletics

By Ron Smith
February 14, 2020
 
(ROCKLIN, Calif.) The start of the 2020 Golden State Athletic Conference was sweet for the Warriors of #15 Westmont (7-5, 2-0 GSAC) as they swept #14 William Jessup on opening day of the GSAC conference. Westmont took the first game 15-2, then prevailed in the second 6-2.
 
Cory Dawson struck out 14 batters on the way to his third victory of the season. It was the second time in as many starts that he struck out 14. Dawson allowed one run on eight hits in seven innings of work.
 
"Cory was outstanding today," said Ruiz. "We look to him as our senior leader and he set the tone. All of his stuff was working and he was effective throughout his outing. He carried the team deep into the game, which helped us conserve our bullpen. He was really good.
 
"The two guys that came in behind him – Gabe Arteaga and Carlos Moreno – got their jobs done and moved us on to the next game. Those guys were great, but obviously the charge was led by Cory. It was nice to get some runs early and give him some breathing room."
 
Warrior bats produced fourteen hits in game one led by Daniel Netz and Travis Vander Molen
 
"Daniel Netz was great for us at the plate today," reported Ruiz. "It was a good bounce back day for him. In game one he hit two home runs and put together some good at bats. Travis Vander Molen also swung that bat well today and Simon Reid had some competitive and productive at bats."
 
Netz went four for eight over the two games, scored four times and drove in four runs. In the early game, Vander Molen was two for four with three runs scored, three RBIs and a home run. Reid went three for three in the second game with a double and three RBIs.
 
"Really, though it was a team effort," said Ruiz of the offensive output. "The guys were really focused at the plate and executed a good approach. I was happy with how they came out today."
 
Westmont scored seven runs in the first two innings and at least one run in every inning except the fifth and ninth. Sage Pera was three for four with a double and a triple and three runs batted in.
 
"One thing we did differently today was find a way to get runners in that were in scoring position," expressed Ruiz. "We had a lot of sac flies with runners on third. You have to have that in competitive conference games against good teams."
 
Six of Westmont's 21 runs came via sacrifice flies.
 
In the second game, Jameson Kruger pitched a complete game for the Warriors. He allowed two runs on just two hits and struck out six.
 
"Kruger was the best I have seen him all year," said Ruiz. "We were in a save situation after he came out in the six, but his pitch count was down. We were getting to go to (closer) Bailey Reid, but we scored two more runs in the top of the seventh.
 
"So, Kruger stepped up, took the ball back and went back and finished for us. That allowed us to save Reid, potentially, for two games tomorrow. I thought he showed a lot of maturity and poise in his ability to go do that. When you are looking at back-to-back doubleheaders, it goes a long way to save a couple of arms in your pen."
 
In addition to Simon Reid's prowess at the plate in the afternoon game, Alex Stufft went three for four, including two doubles, and drove in an RBI. Taylor Garcia went two for four including a double to center in the fourth inning.
 
The two teams will meet up again tomorrow for another doubleheader in Rocklin.
 
"It feels good going into tomorrow knowing our bullpen is relatively fresh," said Ruiz. "Most of our guys haven't been used and we like the two guys we have starting as well. Jessup is a very good program and they are going to come out and play good baseball tomorrow.
 
"We need to continue to execute. We played very good defense today and we need to continue to do so. We need to execute on the mound and continue to have consistent at bats."
 
First pitch is scheduled for eleven o'clock.