By Ron Smith
March 16, 2024
 
(HONOLULU) Westmont Baseball (16-7-3, 8-1-1 PacWest) made it 6-0 in Hawaii by sweeping Chaminade (11-15, 4-7) in the first of two doubleheaders with the Silverswords. The Warriors won the first game 11-3, then scored in the top of the seventh to win 4-3 in the second game.
 
Bryan Peck picked up his third win in his last three starts and improved his record to 5-1 in the first game of the series. Peck pitched six innings, allowing two runs on five hits. He struck out nine and walked three. In three of the innings, Peck retired the side in order.
 
Tanner Beltowski pitched the seventh inning for the Warriors. He gave up one unearned run, on one hit and struck out one.
 
Sam Kim finished up on the mound for the Warriors, pitching two scoreless innings. Kim allowed two hits and recorded one strikeout.
 
Daniel Patterson opened up the game with a double down the right field line. A ground out to second by Jack Bollengier allowed Patterson to move to third. When Bryce McFeely was walked, the Warriors had runners on the corners. One out later, Jaden Mingus came to the plate. On an 0-1 pitch, McFeely stole second. When the throw from the catcher was bounced to second, Patterson broke from third and scored without a throw to the plate.
 
Chaminade answered back in the bottom of the first with an RBI-single by Casey Kudell that scored Jake Harper from second. Harper had reached on a slow-rolling, infield-single to short.
 
Westmont began to take control of the game in the top of the third. Grant Yzermans led off the inning with a bunt single. Patterson, who went four for six in game one, recorded an infield single, moving Yzermans to second. Then Bollengier produced another bunt single to load the bases with Warriors.  
 
McFeely knocked a two-RBI single up the middle, scoring Yzermans and Patterson, and moving Bollengier to third. Soper followed with a single through the right side, bringing home Bollengier and moving McFeely to third.
 
Soper stole second base, giving the Warriors runners at second and third. One out later, Critchett sent a fly ball to left field. McFeely took off for home and crossed the plate, but was called out on appeal for leaving the base early. That ended the top of the third with the score 4-1.
 
In the bottom of the third, JT Navyac made it a 4-2 game with an RBI-single to right field.
 
In the fifth, Westmont plated two more runs. With one away, McFeely was hit by a pitch. Then, with Soper at bat, McFeely advanced to second on a wild pitch. Soper sent the next pitch into center field for a base hit that drove McFeely home. Mingus came up to the plate next and, on the first pitch, Soper stole second. The throw to second hit Soper and deflected toward the left-field foul line. That allowed Soper to reach third. Then, Mingus sent an RBI-single to left to score Soper and make the Warriors' advantage 6-2.
 
Westmont added five more runs to the scoreboard in the sixth. Guidara was hit by a pitch to lead off the top of the sixth inning. Yzermans followed with a double to left that moved Guidara to third. A ground ball to second by Patterson resulted in the Warriors' third baseman reaching on an error while Yzermans scored and Guidara moved to third.
 
After a Chaminade pitching change, Bollengier sliced a single inside the left-field line to score Guidara and move Patterson over to third. Then, one pitch after getting knocked down by an inside pitch, McFeely singled to left to score Patterson and advance Bollengier to second.
 
Soper advanced Bollengier to third and McFeely to second with a ground out to first. Mingus took ball four on a wild pitch that allowed Bollengier to score and McFeely to take third. One out later, with runners on the corners, Callahan singled to left, making the score 11-2 when McFeely scored.
 
The Silverswords' Josh Regalla produced a pinch-hit single to center to lead off the bottom of the seventh. Two outs later, Kudell reached on an error that allowed him to take second and Regalla to advance to third. After a walk to Ryan Ruch to load the bases. JT Navyac sent a base-hit into right, scoring Regalla. However, Ruch overran second base and McFeely threw him out to end the inning and prevent any further damage.
 
The second game was a back-and-forth affair characterized by solid pitching on both sides. Chase Goddard took the mound for the Warriors, starting his first PacWest game. Brayden Wells was the Silverswords' starting pitcher.
 
The Silverswords took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning on an RBI-single to center by Kudell. One out later, Navyac sent a fly ball to shallow right field. McFeely made the catch, then fired home where catcher Tyler McEvoy secured the ball and tagged Adyan Lobetos' foot as he dove head first for the plate, ending the inning.
 
Soper led off the top of the second with an opposite-field single to left. Two outs later, Callahan sent a lazy ball into right field for another single, advancing Soper to third. McEvoy stepped to the plate and produced an RBI-single down the right field line driving in Soper. An error on the play allowed Callahan to score as well, resulting in a 2-1 Westmont lead.
 
In the third, Goddard got two outs, but also walked two batters. Evan Johnson was called upon to relieve Goddard. Johnson gave up a single to the right side that scored one, but then induced a ground ball to short that ended the inning in a two-all tie.
 
In the top of the fourth, Callahan walked with two away. On the first pitch he saw in the at bat, McEvoy restored the lead to the Warriors when he doubled down the left field line. The ball rolled to the corner, allowing Callahan to score from first.
 
Kudell provided the Silverswords with an RBI-single in the bottom of the fifth that tied the score at three by driving in Harper from third. Later in the inning, Aidan Holly was called in to get the Warriors out of a jam. With the bases loaded and two outs. Holly coaxed Williams into popping out to second.
 
In the bottom of the sixth, Rhyn Chambers led off with a double to left-center. Jaren Banis successfully produced a sacrifice bunt to move Chambers to third with one away. Holly responded again, striking out both Kudell and Ruch.
 
In the top of the seventh, Callahan started off the inning with a walk, then advanced to second on a wild pitch. McEvoy flew out to deep center field, allowing Callahan to reach third. After Wells was replaced on the mound by Chambers, Yzermans sent a bounding ball through the left side of the infield for an RBI-single and a 4-3 Westmont lead.
 
With the Warriors up by one in the seven-inning game, Zach Yates was called on to secure the win. Yates struck out Kudell for the first out, then did the same to Ruch for the second out. Then, Yates convinced Navyac to ground out to third to end the game and earn his fifth save of the season.
 
The Warriors will conclude their road trip to Hawaii tomorrow with another doubleheader with the Silverswords. First pitch is at 12:00 p.m. HST / 3:00 p.m. PST.