By Jacob Norling
March 9, 2021
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) #13 Westmont (11-9, 4-4 GSAC) bounced back after getting swept over the weekend by defeating NCAA Div. II #12 Azusa Pacific (2-2) on Tuesday afternoon by a score of 12-10.
 
After dropping two out of three against the Cougars in Azusa a couple weekends back, the Warriors responded at home by displaying one of their biggest offensive outbursts of the season. With the offense that Azusa brought to the table, the Warriors needed just about every run they could come by.
 
After Westmont starter Kyle Osterhage stranded a pair of runners in the top of the first, the Warriors came out swinging in the bottom half, tallying four runs in the opening frame.
 
Following a walk by John Jensen and an 11-pitch at bat by Simon Reid that resulted in a single, Drew Bayard jumped on the first pitch he saw and doubled down the right field line, scoring both men aboard. Then, Thomas Rudinsky launched a ball into the deepest part of the ballpark, near the observatory in left-center, and cleared the wall for a two-run homerun.
 
After Rudinsky drove in another run in the second, the 5-0 lead began to slip away from the Warriors, who had a scheduled bullpen-day and deployed 10 arms in total to record 27 outs.
 
Three home runs for the Cougars pulled them within a run heading into the bottom of the fifth inning, which led to the Warriors putting up three more of their own. The third run the Warriors scored in the fifth was perhaps the most memorable one they've scored all year, from a team standpoint.
 
With two outs and nobody on senior catcher Renn Duncan unloaded on a ball and deposited it well over the wall in straight-away left, for his first home run since his senior year of high school. Duncan, who came into the game with only eight career at bats at Westmont, has been a clubhouse favorite since arriving on campus in 2018. When he cleared the wall, Duncan's teammates erupted with an amount of enthusiasm typically reserved for walk-offs.
 
Westmont head coach Robert Ruiz said, "That's one that we'll all never forget. You can tell when your teammates love and respect you when they respond that way to your success. Renn also did a phenomenal job behind the plate, managing the game well with ten different pitchers. Renn is competing like a senior and it was awesome to see the day he had today."
 
In the following inning, Rudinsky reclaimed the spotlight, hitting his second two-run shot of the day to put the Warriors up 10-4. Rudinsky is currently second on the club with five home runs.
 
In response to Rudinsky and his six-RBI game, coach Ruiz said, "It was really nice to see him get going. You know, we really see him as a guy that can be a power threat in our lineup and he's been good for us all year, but it's definitely nice to see him leaving the yard a little bit more lately."
 
The Cougars would not go quietly in the late innings, pulling within two in the top of the seventh, before the Warriors tacked on another pair to lead 12-8. The eighth inning proved to be the only complete inning without a run scoring from either side.
 
With a four-run lead, coach Ruiz opted to go to Jamie Kruger in the ninth to slam the door shut. Two batters in, Kruger surrendered a two-run home run to David Hays and both sides knew they were in for a nail-biting finish.
With a 12-10 lead, Kruger allowed a single and then retired a pair of hitters before walking the bases loaded for Griffin Herrera. After going full to the previous two hitters, Kruger got Herrera to bounce to Alex Stufft at third on the second pitch of the at bat. Stufft calmly stepped on the bag for the force out and let out a roar along with the rest of the Westmont dugout, as the Warriors officially put their 5-game losing streak to bed.
 
In response to the pitching staff's ability to turn a bullpen-day into a victory, coach Ruiz said, "The thing I was most proud of was that our guys just kept attacking the strike zone. They didn't let the fact that runs were being scored deter them from attacking hitters, and really good hitters at that. A lot of these guys are freshmen and sophomores that we're getting some experience and they're going to continue to grow and get better.
 
"We needed to play a complete game of baseball today coming off of a rough weekend, and I thought we had a great dugout and great energy and played really good defense. At the end of the day, win or lose, you feel really good about the way we competed today and you feel like we got back on track."
 
The Warriors return to GSAC play on Friday as they'll play the first of two doubleheaders scheduled in Rocklin against William Jessup. As has been the case all season, spectators will not be permitted to attend games in person due to local and state mandates. However, fans can tune in to live broadcasts on the William Jessup website.