By Jacob Norling
March 16, 2021
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) #13 Westmont (14-11,7-5 GSAC) could not mount a rally against NCAA Div. II #9 Azusa Pacific on Tuesday, dropping their final meeting with the Cougars 5-1. Westmont and Azusa finished their fifth and final contest of the season, with Azusa officially winning the series three games to two.
 
Westmont is sure to have their hands full this weekend when #18 Vanguard comes in with a GSAC-leading 3.18 team ERA. On Tuesday, Azusa's pitching staff prepared the Warriors for the incoming tall task. Westmont tallied just six hits in nine innings on Tuesday, while striking out nine times.
 
Westmont's best chance to hang a crooked number happened in the first inning when Drew Bayard worked a 10-pitch walk to load the bases with two outs for Ryan Desaegher. Desaegher worked a full count against Azusa starter Brendan Dixon, but ultimately went down on strikes, swinging through a fastball at the knees.
 
Westmont's pitching staff kept them in the game, stringing together their second consecutive bullpen-game against the Cougars. Nine Warriors threw on Tuesday, with five of them putting up scoreless outings and only one allowing a crooked number.  
 
Kyle Osterhage opened for Westmont for the second time in as many games against the Cougars and delivered a scoreless inning, retiring the side in order thanks to a double play. In the second inning, Zac Grand surrendered the first run of the day on a two-out single by Omar Lopez that gave Azusa the early advantage.
 
Sam Kim, Dylan Sund, and Aidan Holly then combined for three scoreless innings, allowing only one hit between them from the third through the fifth.
 
In the bottom half of the fifth, Simon Reid drove in Westmont's lone run of the day when he singled through the right side to bring in Brady Renck. Before that single, the left-handed Dixon had carved through the Westmont lineup and collected five strikeouts. Azusa head coach Paul Svagdis took no chances with the heart of the Westmont lineup coming up, and pulled Dixon in favor of right-hander David Wylie.
 
With one out and runners at the corners in the fifth, Wylie got the red-hot Thomas Rudinsky to bounce into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning and hold the Warriors to the lone run. Wylie would go on to throw 2 2/3 hitless innings, while earning the victory in relief.
 
The Cougars got Wylie the lead in the top of the sixth, responding to Westmont's run with a pair of their own on a two-run single by Griffin Herrera with two outs. Aaron Roose added to the lead in the seventh with a two-out RBI single of his own, and Azusa got their final insurance run in the ninth on an RBI single by Tyus Santa Anna.
 
Westmont recorded only one hit against the Azusa bullpen in 4 2/3 to end the game.
 
Westmont head coach Robert Ruiz said, "This series against APU was a very good test for us. While we came up one game shy of our goal, which was to win that series, I still feel like it was a series for our team. As young as we are in some areas, it was great to get tested at home and on the road against a top tier division two program.
 
"These games have prepared us for some tough opponents in our conference and let us know that the future is bright for some of our younger players who played some key roles in these games. Now it's time to prepare for Vanguard."
 
The Warriors will be quick to turn the page with the GSAC-West leading Vanguard Lions coming into town for a pivotal four game series beginning on Friday. Currently, four games separate the two. First pitch of game one is scheduled for 11:00 AM, with live broadcasts available on the Westmont athletics website. Spectators will not be permitted to attend games in person due to local and state mandates.