By Jacob Norling
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) (RV) Westmont (18-13, 11-7 GSAC) continued to creep up the Golden State Athletic Conference standings on Thursday after winning a pair of games against San Diego Christian (2-23, 0-18).
 
Westmont will enter Friday only one game back of second place #10 Hope International and three games back of first place #4 Vanguard. With those two teams playing a series in Costa Mesa this weekend, Westmont can guarantee to close the gap on at least one of the two with a series win against San Diego Christian. Westmont took care of their business on Thursday, with an 11-2 win in game one followed by a 13-4 win in game two.
 
Westmont, while hosting, is playing as the visiting team against San Diego Christian this weekend, due to limited facilities for the Hawks. Westmont made sure the outcome of the game was not dependent on the last at bat, as they utilized a pair of four-run innings to pull away from the Hawks in game one.
 
Before putting up those crooked numbers, Westmont got on the board with a two-run double by John Jensen in the second inning. Jensen would homer later in game one, and finish with a game-high four RBIs.
 
Westmont was up 2-1 heading into the fourth inning when they put up a four spot beginning with a home run by Daniel Netz, who also homered in game two. The solo shot was followed by an RBI single from Alex Stufft, and a pair of sac flies by Thomas Rudinsky and Robbie Haw.
 
"Netz really started to put together some quality at bats last weekend," said Westmont head coach Robert Ruiz. "He's been working hard to be the best version of himself. Consistency has been a goal for him, and I think he's carried consistency over for a couple weeks now.
 
Westmont starter Chad Stoner earned the victory after throwing five innings in which he surrendered only one earned run. The Westmont bullpen threw four scoreless innings highlighted by the season debut of Eric Oseguera, who had been sidelined for a little over two years since arm issues cut his freshman season short. Oseguera retired the side in order in his first appearance since March 19, 2019.
 
"It's been a long journey for (Oseguera) and I'm super excited for him," said Ruiz. "He's worked really hard to get here so today was special for him just getting back on the mound, it was awesome to see him have success."
 
Brady Renck hit his first collegiate home run in the fifth inning, narrowly clearing the right field wall. Renck, who has struggled at times in his second season, cracked a smile as he crossed home and finished the day with three hits.
 
"Brady has been slowly building better at bats," said Ruiz. "And today he was finally able to barrel some balls as you saw with the home run. I think he's getting going at the right time, and he's somebody I think is going to be a key part of our lineup as we go down the back stretch of this season."
 
Jensen's home run put Westmont up 9-2 in the eighth in what would ultimately be the second four-run inning of the game for the Warriors who cruised to an 11-2 win.
 
In game two, Renck got the Warriors on the board with his third extra-base hit of the day, this time an RBI double. Then, Renn Duncan continued the feel-good story of 2021 with his second home run of the season.
 
Duncan, who was hitless in his Westmont career until this season (his senior year), now has five hits on the campaign. Two of which are home runs, and three of which have gone for extra bases.
 
"Renn has just really grown and continued to get better," said Ruiz. "He's putting a lot of extra work in and it's showing with the way he's commanding the game behind the plate and giving us productive at bats consistently. He's become an important option for us."
 
Westmont's offense continuously passed the baton in game two, with seven different men tallying RBIs and all but one member of the starting lineup reaching base safely at least once.
 
Simon Reid, the reigning GSAC Player of the Week, continued to swing a hot bat, finishing with three hits in four at bats while collecting a pair of RBIs.
 
The Westmont pitching staff was good once again in game two, with Will Andersen collecting the win after firing 3 2/3 innings and allowing three runs. The Westmont bullpen allowed only one run in the final 3 1/3, with Jamie Kruger continuing to rediscover his command in relief. Kruger fired two scoreless innings and struck out four.
 
"We came out and did what we needed to do today," said Ruiz. "We attacked hitters and were consistently in the strike zone, cutting back on free passes. Our guys did a great job, and hopefully we can come out with the same approach tomorrow and stick with it."
 
Westmont and San Diego Christian go at it again tomorrow with another doubleheader to complete the season series between the two. First pitch is scheduled for 11 AM. Due to state and local mandates spectators will not be permitted to attend. However, fans can tune in to live broadcasts on the Westmont athletics website.