By Jacob Norling
March 26, 2021
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) (RV) Westmont (20-13, 13-7 GSAC) did not play their best baseball of the season on Friday, but ultimately gritted their way to a pair of wins against San Diego Christian (2-25, 0-20) to complete a series sweep.
 
Westmont had to come from behind in both games on Friday, outslugging the Hawks 13-10 to win game one followed by an even narrower 9-7 victory in game two.
 
"Certainly not the prettiest baseball," said head coach Robert Ruiz. "But I thought our guys did a good job of staying engaged in the fight and not quitting. 16 innings today and it really says a lot about the makeup of our lineup to be resilient especially when things got late."
 
Westmont's starting pitching struggled in both games with neither Gabe Arteaga nor Ryan Humphreys providing much length. In game one the Warriors scratched across two runs in the opening frame and then the wheels came off in the bottom half of the inning.
 
Arteaga allowed seven runs in the inning, six of which were earned, and could only get two outs before coach Ruiz was forced to go to the Westmont bullpen. The Hawks ultimately led 8-2 after the first inning.
 
Bradley Heacock and Chase Goddard came out of the bullpen much sooner than expected, but answered the call when Westmont desperately needed length. Heacock and Goddard each threw four innings in relief, with only two runs scoring in the final eight innings for the Hawks. Down 10-2, Westmont had an uphill battle and did not score again until the sixth inning after a pair of runs crossed in the first.
 
In the sixth, Daniel Netz brought life back into the Westmont dugout when he hit a grand slam to straight-away left to pull the Warriors within four. It was Netz' fourth consecutive game with a home run.
 
An inning later Netz found the spotlight on him again. After an error gifted the Warriors a pair of runs to pull them within two, Netz batted with runners on second and third in a 10-8 ballgame. Daniel flared a double into no man's land down the left field line to tie the ballgame, and collect his sixth RBI of the day.
 
"Netz has gone back to back weekends now where he's given us consistency out of left field and it's been huge," said Ruiz. "It's been really nice to see some senior leadership out of him and I'm really excited because I know how bad he wants it. He's starting to see things go his way as a result of his work ethic and sheer will."
 
The game remained tied until the ninth inning when Renn Duncan continued to add pages to his storybook senior year. With the bases loaded and one out, Duncan cleared the bases with a double to left-center field and gave the Warriors their first lead since the opening frame.
 
"Renn has really been a great situational hitter for us," said Ruiz. "We gave him two starts behind the dish this weekend and he thrived, behind the plate and in the box. He really picked our team up in a number of ways."
 
Goddard, who earned the win in relief, retired the Hawks in order in the ninth to seal a 13-10 win.
 
In game two much of the same occurred for the Warriors early. After spotting Humphreys a pair of runs in the first, the sophomore surrendered seven runs in the first two innings to put Westmont in another hole early. Humphreys lasted only three innings.

Again the Westmont bullpen kept the ball club in the game, giving the bats time to wake up. Carlos Moreno earned the win with 2 2/3 shutout innings while Robbie Haw earned his third save of the season with an inning and two-thirds to close things out.
 
The bullpen's effort did not go to waste thanks to the patient approach of the Westmont lineup who methodically clawed their way back from an early 7-3 deficit. Westmont scored at least a run in every inning until the seventh, when they had already taken the lead after rallies in the fifth and sixth flipped the script once again.
 
Simon Reid tied things up in the fifth on an RBI single scoring Alex Stufft, and Brady Renck capped off his best weekend of the year with what turned out to be a game-winning RBI single scoring Netz in the sixth.
 
Westmont added on another due to an RBI double by John Jensen, and Haw shut things down in the ninth to give the Warriors a 9-7 win.
 
"We got some unbelievable work out of our bullpen," said Ruiz. "We have to get more out of our starting pitching. We know today was sort of a slip up there, but to give up an eight-run first in game one and seven in the first two of game two, and to still come back and win says a lot about our guys."
 
After the four game sweep, Westmont now finds themselves in the thick of things atop the GSAC West standings. The Warriors are now only two games back of the #4 Vanguard Lions and are currently tied with #10 Hope International for second place. The Warriors will look to keep climbing the standings when they welcome William Jessup on Tuesday for the first of a four game series. First pitch of game one is at 11:00 AM, and live broadcasts will be available on the Westmont athletics website.