By Ron Smith
February 4, 2022
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) Westmont's Bryan Peck and Aidan Holly combined for a nine-inning one-hitter in the first game of a doubleheader on Friday at Russ Carr Field. The Warriors took the first game 7-0 and then won the second 9-4.
 
Peck, a true freshman, retired the first 19 batters that he faced before conceding a one-out walk in the top of the seventh inning. Peck picked up the second out on a fielder's choice, then finished his day by producing his seventh strikeout.
 
"What a fantastic job by him of keeping his composure," said Westmont head coach Robert Ruiz. "He only let one guy on base in seven innings. It set the tone for the series. If we can get that out of a freshman consistently, I think we are going to be in a pretty good spot. We have to continue to play well behind him and get runs – we did a good job of that today."
 
With seven hitless innings in today's outing, Peck has now pitched 12 innings of collegiate ball without allowing a run. He has given up just one hit, walked two and hit one batter with a pitch for a total of four baserunners allowed. What's more, he has done all of that against two ranked opponents.
 
"Obviously, that was a fantastic outing by Bryan," note Ruiz. "It proved that last week wasn't a fluke. He has faced two very good offenses in the first two starts of his career. He stayed in the zone and had a dominate outing."
 
"In coaching, it is hard to take a pitcher out in that situation, but it is February 4 and this is his first college season and we just want to take care of him. While it was hard to take the ball from him, and I know he didn't want to come out of the game, I felt like it was the right thing to do.
 
Holly came on in relief in the top of the eighth inning and retired the side in order. In the ninth, Holly walked one and gave up one hit, but pitched out of the jam to preserve the shutout.
 
Offensively, Westmont stuck early. With bases loaded in the first, Josh Rego deposited the baseball near the scoreboard in center field for a grand slam and his third home run of the season.
 
Westmont added two more runs in the second on back-to-back home runs by Simon Reid and Thomas Rudinsky. Reid's shot went to right center and Rudinsky's cleared the left field fence. Rego nearly made it three in a row, sending a deep shot to left that hit off the top of the wall and back into play for a stand-up triple. Unfortunately, the inning came to an end with Rego stranded at third.
 
Westmont manufactured another run in the bottom of the eighth. After Luke Tillitt walked to lead off the inning, Parker O'Neil pinch hit and singled through the right side. After Paul Mezurashi re-entered at first base for O'Neil, Haw laid down a sacrifice bunt to move the baserunners up to second and third. Brady Renck picked up an RBI on a sacrifice fly to deep right that allowed Tillitt to score.
 
"I was happy with the way our hitters competed early in that game," said Ruiz. "They brought a couple of relievers in that were landing more strikes and we got on our heels a little bit. We had to manufacture one late run because I have a lot of respect for that team and their offense. At any point, they could have got back in that game. Even though we were up and Bryan was cruising, we weren't breathing easy. However, I thought the hitters put together good at bats. It was a step forward from last week."
 
In the second game, Eric Oseguera made his first start of the season and pitched three innings.
 
The Redhawks jumped out to 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning. After Benedictine loaded the bases with the first three batters, Casey Lederman scored on a ground ball to short by Orlando Lorduy. James Rosenhage then connected for a sacrifice fly to left field that scored Kevin Fitzgeral.
 
However, the Warriors scored three times in the bottom half of the first to take a lead they would never surrender. Haw led off the inning with a walk, then stole second. After Renck walked, both men advanced on a wild pitch. Reid and Rudinsky followed with back-to-back sacrifice flies to center field, tying the game at two. Rego then beat out an infield single and stole second before David Martinez brought him home with a single to center field.
 
Oseguera returned to the mound for the second inning and retired the side in order before the Warriors added four more runs in the bottom half to take a 7-2 lead. With one away and Mezurashi at first, Haw sent an RBI double to left. One out later, Reid doubled to right, scoring Haw. Rudinsky then drove a ball beyond the left field fence for his second home run of the day.
 
"It is nice to get Oseguera back and start building his pitch count up," said Ruiz. "I thought he made some good pitches in that first inning. A couple of things get through here and there and the next thing you know it was two runs. I commended our offense for coming back and finding a way to get three in the bottom half to win that inning. The first two runs, to match their two, we didn't have a hit yet – two walks, a wild pitch and two sac flies – that's just good baseball.
 
"Ose settled in and kept making good pitches. To get a zero after that and then another one showed maturity on his part."
 
With Zac Grand taking over pitching duties for the Warriors, the Redhawks took two back in the top of the fourth on a leadoff double by Rosenhage, followed by a home run by Christian Carlos. Benedictine threatened to score more in the inning with the bases loaded and only one out. However, Gabe Arteaga, who had come on in relief, delivered back-to-back strikeouts to prevent any further damage.
 
Renck made it an 8-4 game in the fourth inning when his bomb to dead center field hit the batter's eye three-quarters of the way up the 35-foot backdrop.
 
"Brady has continued to develop power," observed Ruiz. "He led our team in home runs this fall and I am not surprised to see him leave the yard. He got into that one. He doesn't look like your prototypical power guy, but he has worked hard to be able to drive runs in and leave the yard."
 
After Arteaga retired the Redhawks in order in the top of the fifth, Westmont added another run in the bottom of the fifth. With the bases load and one out, O'Neil recorded a pinch-hit RBI on a sacrifice fly to center field, driving in Martinez who had led off the inning with a single to right.
 
"Parker has been getting pinch hit at bats and he has executed," noted Ruiz. "In both games today he got a single at bat resulting in a base hit and a sacrifice fly. He got a couple of strikes, but stayed within himself to get us the sac fly there with the bases loaded when we needed a run. It shows his maturity. I think he is working his way to find more and more opportunities in our lineup."
 
Arteaga finished out the game and collected the win – his first of the season. The right-hander pitched three and two-third innings, allowing no runs on two hits. He struck out nine of the 16 batters he faced and walked one.
 
"I can't say enough about Gabe Arteaga," said Ruiz. "That was a fantastic outing. The momentum had almost fully swung in the other direction. For him to come in and get those two big strikeouts in the middle of their lineup with some very good hitters, was, in a lot of ways, the difference maker for the day. Then he finishes the game, preservers our bullpen and puts up zeros. I am really proud of the way Gabe competed today. He has worked hard to get himself where he is right now."
 
The Warriors return to action Saturday with a doubleheader against Saint Katherine at Russ Carr Field. First pitch is scheduled for eleven o'clock.