By Ron Smith
February 16, 2024
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) Westmont Baseball (5-3-1) evened the series with #24 Cal Poly Pomona (4-2) with a 7-4 win at Russ Carr Field on Friday afternoon. Each team now has one victory in the four-game series.
 
Junior Bryan Peck pitched six and two-third innings to earn his second win of the season. The right-hander allowed two runs on seven hits, struck out six and walked just one. The walk was the first of the season for Peck in 17 1/3 innings of work.
 
Aiden Holly pitched the remaining two and one-third innings, earning his second save of the season. Holly gave up two runs on five hits, struck out four and did not issue a walk.
 
Cal Poly put numbers on the scoreboard first, courtesy of a two-run home run to right field by center fielder Brent Cota.
 
The Warriors were held hitless until the bottom of the fourth inning. With one away, Bryce McFeely dribbled a ball to the left side of the infield and hustled down the first base line to beat the throw for an infield single. Trey Dunn followed with a double in the left center field gap that moved McFeely to third. Jaden Mingus then cued a ball off the end of the bat to the right side of the infield, allowing McFeely to score and make it a 2-1 game.
 
The Warriors tied the game at two runs apiece in the bottom of the fifth when Andrew Guidara delivered a lead-off home run to right field. Two outs later, Daniel Patterson singled to center field before Michael Soper homered to right center, giving Westmont a 4-2 advantage.
 
With two away in the sixth inning, Westmont added another pair of runs to go up 6-2. Tanner Beltowski started things off for the Warriors with a double to right center. Before Guidara could come to the plate, Broncos' head coach Randy Betten pulled his starter, Noel Soto, in favor of reliever Ruben Del Castillo. It didn't matter. The left-hander drove the first pitch down the left-field line for his second home run in as many innings.
 
The Broncos made it a 6-3 game in the top of the eighth by three successive singles to start the inning, resulting in an RBI by Jacob Lopez.
 
The Warriors took the run back in the bottom of the eighth. With one away, Dunn and Mingus hit back-to-back singles to left. One out later, Guidara was walked, perhaps semi-intentionally, to load the bases. Colin Callahan came to the plate and took a 3-1 pitch for ball four to earn an RBI.
 
A solo home run to right center by Cota in the top of the ninth - his second on the day - produced the final run of the game.
 
The Warriors and Broncos will resume action on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. in a doubleheader that will conclude the series.