By Ron Smith
February 7, 2025
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) Westmont Baseball (3-2) claimed both ends of a doubleheader in its home opener on Friday at Russ Carr Field. In the early game, the Warriors defeated the Gators of San Francisco State (1-2) by a score of 12-7, then notched a 4-2 victory in game two.
 
After scoring three times in the opening frame of game one, a seven-run fourth inning propelled the Warriors toward their first victory of the day.
 
The Gators scored a run in the top of the first on an RBI groundout by Daniel Santos before the Warriors went to work in the bottom of the inning. Daniel Patterson, batting lead-off, was walked, then reached second when a pick-off attempt went awry. A single by Michael Soper moved Patterson to third, giving Westmont runners on the corners with no outs.
 
Bryce McFeely drove in Patterson with a single to center field that allowed Soper to take second. When Trey Dunn flew out to deep center field, Soper advanced to third. Then with two down, Isaac Veal produced his third home run of the year, depositing the ball over the center field fence. That made the score 3-1 in favor of the Warriors.
 
San Francisco scored the next four runs – two in the second and one each in the third and fourth – to take a 5-3 lead.  The bottom of the fourth, however, saw an offensive explosion by the Warriors with 10 men coming to the plate.
 
Veal produced a lead-off single, then stole second base. A single through the left side by Bollengier advanced Veal to third. The first out came when Veal was thrown out at the plate trying to score on a ground ball. After Bollengier stole second, Callahan popped up to record the second out.
 
Shane Hofstadler then stepped to the plate and singled to left, driving in Bollengier for the first run and advancing Jesse Di Maggio to second. An RBI double by Patterson tied the game at five while advancing Hofstadler to third. Then Soper doubled to right-center field, plating both Patterson and Hofstadler
 
Soper's drive to right-center field bounced high off the outfield fence. The umpires first ruled it a home run and waved Soper home. However, after a meeting of the minds they returned Soper to second base.
 
After a pitching change, McFeely walked, giving the Warriors men on first and second base with four, fourth-inning runs already tallied on the scoreboard. Dunn stretched that total to seven with a three-run homer to right center field. He cleared the 35-foot outfield net with his opposite-field blast.
 
"If we could have a seven-run inning like that every game, that would be nice," quipped Westmont's head coach Paul Svagdis. "I don't know how those things happen.
 
"We have a physical group of players. They are attentive to detail with what we want them to do. I tell the guys that if in each one of our at bats we get two good swings apiece, that is 72 good swings. We will score some runs. They did a good job staying aggressive in game one."
 
The Warriors added a single run in both the sixth and the eighth inning. In the sixth, Dunn picked up his fourth RBI of the game with a single to center field that brought Soper home from third. Then in the eighth, Hofstadler's lead-off double to left-center turned into a run when he later scored on a wild pitch.
 
Bryan Peck earned the win after pitching five innings. He allowed five runs on 12 hits, struck out eight and walked just one.
 
Sophomore Caden Beloian was awarded the save – the first of his collegiate career – after pitching the final four innings. He allowed two runs on three hits, struck out six and walked two.
 
"I just saw Bryan and told him he did a really good job," reported Svagdis at the end of the day. "The numbers wouldn't say that, but I was impressed with his body language and his willingness to compete when he wasn't having his best day. For him to get five innings and give the ball to Caden was terrific.
 
"Caden did a really nice job today. He came in and threw strikes. The ball looks different out of his hand than it does Peck's. We used that combo last week and it was good. Their hitters got a little more off balance after Peck stepped off the mound."
 
In the second game, which was scheduled for seven innings, Svagdis sent freshman Hunter Hammond to the mound for his first collegiate start.
 
"Hammond, did a great job," assessed Svagdis. "We have always had high hopes for his development. After his performance at Cal Poly, the coaches met on Monday and decided to put him in the rotation. He handled it really well."
 
The right-hander pitched five innings, allowing two runs on four hits and striking out two. He departed the game with the score tied at two. In the sixth, Yates was summoned from the bullpen and worked the final two innings. The senior, who picked up his second win in his second outing, did not allow a run or a hit. He struck out four and walked two.
 
"Yates did a great job," posited Svagdis. "He gave us the zero in the top of the sixth and then we got ahead in the game. Yates came in and locked it down."
 
Westmont went ahead in the bottom of the first when Soper left no doubt with a 365-foot solo home run. No umpire meeting was required.
 
In the top of the third, the Gators took a 2-1 lead when Michael Cunningham doubled down the left field line, driving in Daniel Murillo and Camden Andrews. The lead would stand up until the bottom of the fourth when Bryce McFeely delivered his first home run of the season with a shot to left field that left the bat at 106 mph.
 
The score remained tied at two until the bottom half of the sixth inning. Veal was walked to lead off the inning, then Bollengier was hit by a pitch, putting men on first and second with no outs. That's when Svagdis made a move.
 
"We brought in Dusty Schraeder to bunt," said the coach. "He did an excellent job moving those runners over. It didn't work out the way we thought it would. I thought we would safety squeeze a guy in and be up by one. Instead, we had to do it with two outs.
 
"About two months ago, I told Dusty that I thought we were going to be a very physical team, but I need a guy who can come off the bench and bunt. I asked him if he could be that guy for us and he said, 'Yes.'
 
"At every practice in January, he worked on bunts for us when we hit. When we got first and second base I thought, 'this is what we practice every day'. Dusty came in and executed it beautifully. What a great bunt. I was really proud of him. He's a senior and it was a role that won us a baseball game today. I gave him a game ball at the end of the game.
 
The second out came when Veal was thrown out at the plate on a ground ball by Callahan. Tyler McEvoy came up to bat and reached first when he was hit by a pitch to load the bases with Warriors and bring Patterson back to the plate.
 
After another pitching change, Patterson singled when he hit a 1-1 breaking ball into left field, driving in Callahan and Bollengier and putting the Warriors up 4-2.
 
There was a bit of drama in the top of the seventh when the Gators loaded the bases with one away. However, Yates closed the door with back-to-back strikeouts, securing the Warrior win.
 
The same two teams will be back in action for another doubleheader tomorrow, beginning at 11:00 a.m.