By Jacob Norling and Ron Smith
February 5, 2022
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) With two more strong pitching performances, Westmont Baseball (7-1) completed a 4-0 week with a sweep of Saint Katherine. The Warriors won both of today's games by the score of 4-2.
 
"Overall, I would say it was a great day and a great weekend," said Westmont head coach Robert Ruiz. "Saint Katherine was 10 times the team they were a week ago and I'm not surprised. Coach Stange is a great coach and I expected them to come back ready to compete this week. Nothing was easy and they made us work for everything. That is a team that I think is going to work their way into the postseason. For us to be able to win close games is really important."
 
In game one, the Warriors opened the scoring by generating a run in the bottom of the first. After reaching on a fielders' choice, Brady Renck stole second base on the first pitch to Simon Reid. The throw skipped into centerfield, allowing Renck to scurry to third base.
 
Two pitches later, Reid put Westmont up 1-0 with a sacrifice fly down the right field line.
 
The first blemish in Westmont starter Bradley Heacock's line came in the top of the second inning. After firing six shutout innings to open his sophomore campaign, Heacock surrendered a solo home run off the bat of left-hander Brady Ware that tied the game at one.
 
Ware got a pitch over the outside part of the plate and went with it, sending the slicing flying ball over the "310" sign to the right of the left-field foul pole. The Firebirds followed up Ware's home run with a double and a pair of groundballs to right side to bring home Trevor Castillo for an early 2-1 advantage.
 
In the bottom of the second, Westmont placed runners at the corners with one out for Paul Mezurashi. The Kailua native smoked a live drive down the third base line to bring in Parker O'Neil for the equalizing run.
 
After hitting a double to deep left center in the bottom of the fourth, O'Neil brought in Westmont's third run of the day. Following his double, O'Neil scampered to third on a ball in the dirt, and came in a batter later when Firebird starter Seth Spencer fired a wild pitch passed catcher Cody Rawson.
 
While taking the lead, the Warriors squandered an opportunity to pad to their advantage in the fourth, when Renck went down looking to leave the bases loaded.
 
With two on and two out in the top of the fifth, Heacock finished off his second five-inning outing in as many weeks. On an 0-2 pitch to Ware, Heacock spun a backdoor breaking ball to get the left-hander looking, and roared off the mound as he stranded a pair of Firebirds to keep the Warriors in the lead.
 
"I thought Brad did a fantastic job out there today," said Ruiz. "He was really good on the mound. A unique thing about today's start was that it was his second collegiate start against the same team, one week after the previous start. They had tougher at bats against him today, but he didn't give much away for free. As a pitcher, when you can minimize the free opportunities, that is the name of the game."
 
 
In the bottom of the inning, the Warriors had another chance to tack on runs, when Finn Snyder came to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs. On the first pitch from reliever James Benham, Rawson was unable to corral a pitch on the outside part of the plate, and courtesy runner Luke Tillitt brought home Westmont's fourth run on the wild pitch.
 
Benham proceeded to punch out Snyder, and the Warriors again stranded multiple runners as the game headed into the late-innings with the club leading 4-2.
 
Fortunately for the Warriors, Sam Kim came out of the bullpen and retired nine of the ten hitters he faced across three scoreless innings. Kim, who struck out two batters, induced five groundouts in his three innings of work, which included a key 6-3 double play in the eighth.
 
"It's hard to say enough about Sam Kim's outing today," praised Ruiz. "To bridge that to the end of the game was incredible. He was good last week and he was a big step ahead this week. Great job by him."
 
Zac Bridger came on in the ninth for his first save opportunity in a Westmont uniform, looking to cap off a brilliant pitching performance by the Warriors in game one. After back-to-back-walks to open the inning, Ruiz made the call to bring in Westmont's fireman, Carlos Moreno.
 
"Bridger ran into a little adversity with a couple of walks," said Ruiz. "He hasn't been on the mound a lot in the last couple of years, so we need to get him more mound time. He is going to be a good, important part of our bullpen this year. The situation played out that we had to make a change."
 
Moreno got Alonso Castellanos to pop up for the first out. Then, Johnny Lopez bounced a groundball to O'Neil, who tagged the runner headed to third for out number two.
 
With two on and two out, Alan Pellacani was the last chance for the Firebirds. On a 1-2 pitch, Moreno struck out Pellacani looking to officially put out the fire and pick up his first save of the season.
 
"Carlos came in and did what he did all last year," assessed Ruiz. "He came in with first and second with no one out and the runners don't even advance. That was fantastic. He executed pitches, he looked poised and he handled about as tough a situation as you can put a pitcher in. We love Carlos and aren't surprised, but I certainly want to commend him for that effort today."
 
In game two, the Warriors loaded the bases with walks to open up the bottom of the first inning. Thomas Rudinsky then cashed in for the club, dropping a double down the right field line that scored two. Then, O'Neil brought in Westmont's third run of the opening frame with a perfectly executed safety squeeze to bring home Tillitt.
 
The Warrior bats stayed quiet for the majority of the rest of the game, but fortunately for the Warriors, the story of game two was right-hander Chad Stoner, Jr.
 
Stoner gave up a leadoff single to Johnny Lopez to open game two. After that, Stoner did not surrender a single hit for the rest of his afternoon. In five shutout innings, Stoner struck out six while walking just one. The right-hander induced six groundouts and a trio of fly outs in his first winning effort of the season.
 
"We got a great start out of Chad," noted Ruiz. "He got through five, he didn't have to labor a ton, he kept guys off base and he limited his free passes. Getting that start left us with tons of options in the bullpen."
 
The Warriors got Stoner an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth, when Brady Renck launched his third home run of the year. Renck's second homer in as many days sailed into the outfield netting, right of the Warrior scoreboard in right-center.
 
The insurance run loomed large when the Firebirds made things interesting following Stoner's departure. When Cameron Phelps entered in relief of Stoner in the sixth, Ware quickly greeted the senior with a two-run shot to right, cutting the deficit in half.
 
"Phelps was better today," offered Ruiz. "He hung one pitch to a good hitter. His stuff looked better to me today than it did a week ago. We know he is going to be a good pitcher for us, so I am not fazed by that at all."
 
With the club still leading 4-2 going into the seventh, Ruiz opted to bring in Robbie Haw from shortstop, who led the Warriors with six saves in 2021. In his first save opportunity of 2022, Haw retired the Firebirds in order to secure the win.
 
"We went to Robbie and moved our infield around," said Ruiz. "It was how we drew it up last year and he executed in the role."
 
Westmont will continue its season next week with a four-game series against Marymount California. On Friday, the Warriors will host the Mariners in a doubleheader beginning at 11:00 a.m. Then, on Saturday, the teams will meet up in Compton at the MLB Youth Academy for two more games, beginning at the same time.