By Ron Smith
February 5, 2021
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) Westmont Baseball's offense was so prolific in today's 18-1 win over Saint Katherine (3-1) that the Warriors broke the scoreboard.
 
The Warriors (1-1) cracked a 0-0 score in the bottom of the third when a double by John Jensen down the right field line drove in Alex Stufft from second. In the next at bat, Thomas Redinsky's ground ball to shortstop brought home Ryan Desaegher from third to give Westmont a 2-0 advantage.
 
Drew Bayard led off the top of the fourth with a solo home run that dented the foul pole. The lefty pulled a towering shot down the line and everyone watched to see if it would stay fair or drift foul. The ping of the ball off the pole announced that Bayard should take a victory lap.
 
In the bottom of the fifth, the Warriors unleashed a great deal of hurt on the baseball. Westmont sent 16 men to the plate, 12 of whom crossed home plate.
 
It marked the first time since the scoreboard's installation in advance of the 2010 season that any team has scored double-digit runs in one inning – and the scoreboard couldn't handle it. With no place to carry the one, the scoreboard simply displayed a "0 "for the tenth run, a "1" for the eleventh and a "2" for the twelfth.
 
However, the damage was more than the omission of a tens place digit. The plethora of runs in the Warriors' half of the fifth resulted in the scoreboard refusing to advance to the bottom of the sixth. It would seem that the iconic recorder of runs, hits and errors had met its match in the Warriors' bats.
 
The challenge to the board's internal logic was the result of two-out run scoring. The entire dozen runs were scored with two away.
 
Desaegher led off with a bunt single that hugged the line to third. Jensen then walked to give the Warriors two on with nobody out. Two outs later, however, the runners remained unmoved. That brought up Bayard who produced his second round tripper in as many at bats.
 
The fifth continued with two Warriors in a row hit by a pitch– Daniel Netz and Brady Renck. A single by Robbie Haw drove in Netz and advanced Renck to second. It looked like the Firebirds would contain any further damage when Stufft hit a ground ball, but an error resulted in Renck scoring and runners at first and second for Westmont.
 
When Desaegher singled to center, Haw scored and Stufft took second. That brought up Jensen, who delivered the second three-run bomb of the inning, this one deposited over the right-field fence.
 
After a pitching change, Rudinsky and Simon Reid produced back-to-back singles, followed by a walk to Bayard, loading the bases for Netz. The Warriors' left fielder drove a double to right to clear the bases and send the scoreboard into a tailspin.
 
Westmont added three more runs in the bottom of the eighth, though the scoreboard still showed the game to be in the bottom of the sixth. The Warriors loaded the bases with consecutive singles by Haw, Stufft and Desaegher. Devin Perez then picked up an RBI the hard way when he was hit by a pitch. A ground ball by Zack Mendez moved the runners up one base, allowing Stufft to score. Matthew Shults was also hit by a pitch to reload the bases. The final run of the game came on a ground ball by Netz that was mishandled, allowing Desaegher to score.
 
As well as the Warriors did with their bats, the pitching performance was equally impressive. Chad Stoner picked up his first win as a Warrior, allowing just one run on three hits. He struck out five and walked one. Cameron Phelps pitched the final two innings without allowing a run or a hit.
 
Tomorrow, the Warriors will host Benedictine out of Mesa, Arizona in a doubleheader.
 
In keeping with state mandates prohibiting spectators at any intercollegiate contest, no fans will be admitted to the game. Warrior fans can access the online broadcast of Westmont Sports Network either by pointing their browser to https://athletics.wesmont.edu/video or by tuning in on Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV or Roku.