By Ron Smith
March 8, 2025
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) Westmont Baseball (20-3, 15-1), ranked fifth in Division II, won both ends of a doubleheader on Saturday at Russ Carr Field to claim a 3-1 series victory over #10 Point Loma Nazarene (15-7, 11-5). In both games, the Warriors jumped out to a 9-0 lead. Westmont held on in the early game to notch a 10-7 victory, then shut out the Sea Lions 10-0 in game number two.
 
Joey Rico started the first game for the Warriors and earned his second win of the season. The sophomore pitched a masterful five innings – allowing just one hit - before running into trouble in the top of the sixth. Josh Hickey pitched the remaining three and two-third innings to earn his second save.
 
Westmont started the scoring with a single run in the first inning. From the lead-off position, Grant Yzermans singled to right field then advanced to second on a groundout by Michael Soper and took third on a single to center by Daniel Patterson. Yzermans scored when Bryce McFeely hit into a fielder's choice.
 
In the bottom of the second, Isaac Veal led off with a walk. When he stole second, an error on the throw to second allowed Veal to reach third. One out later, Veal scored on a successfully executed bunt single by Colin Callahan.
 
After Callahan stole second, Yzermans returned to the plate and doubled to right field to score the inning's second run. After Soper walked, Yzermans reached third when Patterson flied out to right five. Then, McFeely walked to load the bases. That brought up Jack Bollengier who singled to right center, driving in Yzermans and Soper and giving Westmont a 5-0 lead.
 
The Warriors extended the lead to 8-0 in the bottom of the third on a two-out, three-run home run by Soper. Veal and Callahan had previously reached on walks.
 
In the bottom of the fourth, Westmont added another run on a wild pitch. McFeely and Bollengier hit back-to-back singles to start the inning. Two outs later, Shane Hofstadler was intentionally walked. With Callahan at the plate, a wild pitch allowed McFeely to score.
 
In the top of the sixth, Point Loma chased Rico from the game by scoring four runs. The bases remained loaded with one away when Hickey was called in from the bullpen. Hickey struck out the first batter he faced, then coaxed the next batter into a weak ground ball back to the mound to end the threat.
 
In the bottom of the seventh, Hofstadler powered a solo home run to left, giving Westmont a 10-3 lead.
 
A three-run home run by the Sea Lion's Aiden Arriaga pulled Point Loma within three (10-7). However, those were the last runs scored in the game, resulting in a 2-1 series lead by the Warriors.
 
Yzermans and Bollengier both went three for five in the opening game.
 
Ryan Humphreys and AJ Newell combined for the second-game shutout. Humphreys earned his fourth win pitching four innings, allowing just one hit and striking out seven. Newell, in his collegiate debut, earned a save by allowing just three hits in three innings of work.
 
By the end of the second inning, Westmont held a 9-0 lead. In the bottom of the first, Yzermans reached on an infield single, then advanced to second on a single through the right side by Soper. Yzermans then reached third when Patterson flied out to center.
 
On the first pitch of McNealy's at bat, Soper stole second. When the throw from the catcher went to second, Yzermans broke for home. Point Loma's second baseman took a couple of steps toward home, caught the ball from the catcher, then tried unsuccessfully to throw Yzermans out at home. The result was two stolen bases and a 1-0 Warrior lead.
 
With two away in the opening frame, Bollengier knocked an RBI-single into right, plating Soper. Then, Jesse DiMaggio hit his sixth home run of the year with a blast to left, giving Westmont a 4-0 lead.
 
The five-run second inning started with a one-out single to center by Callahan. Yzermans then singled to center, moving Yzermans to second. One out later, Patterson bounced the ball off the centerfield fence for a two-RBI double.
 
McFeely drove in Patterson with a single through the right side and advanced to second when the throw to the plate got away from the catcher. Bollengier followed with an RBI-single to left, scoring McFeely and taking second on another throw to the plate.
 
Again, Di Maggio stepped to the plate and this time doubled to right center, driving in Bollengier.
 
The final run came in the bottom of the fourth when an infield single by Bollengier allowed Patterson to score.
 
On the day, Bollengier tallied seven hits (all singles) on nine at bats with two runs scored and five RBIs. He also had a stolen base. Yzermans was 5 for 9, including a double, with four runs scored and an RBI.
 
A little more than one-third of the way through the conference season (36%), Westmont sits atop the conference standings with a four-game lead over Jessup (13-4, 10-4) and Point Loma.
 
Next weekend, the Warriors will play a four-game series against the Cougars of Azusa Pacific (10-11, 8-7). The first two games will be played next Friday in Azusa beginning at 1:00 p.m. Then on Saturday, the venue will switch to Westmont's Russ Carr Field for a doubleheader beginning at noon.