By Ron Smith
February 20, 2026
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) Late-inning heroics by Jesse Di Maggio helped Westmont Baseball (7-2, 4-2 PacWest) produce a doubleheader sweep of Vanguard (4-8, 1-5) on Friday afternoon at Russ Carr Field. The Warriors took the first game 3-1, then came from behind to win the second 6-3.
 
In the early game, the Warriors took a 1-0 lead in the first inning before they had produced a hit. A lead-off walk by Grant Yzermans set the ball in motion. Yzermans advanced to second on a ground ball by Joey Rico to give Westmont a man on second with one away.
 
After Di Maggio walked, Isaac Veal hit a groundball to shortstop. The Lions attempted to get the lead runner at third, but the throw in the dirt could not be handled by the third baseman. As a result, Westmont had the bases loaded with still just one out. That brought up catcher Griffin Brown whose sacrifice fly to left allowed Yzermans to score.
 
Westmont added another run in the bottom of the third to go up 2-0. Again, Yzermans got the ball rolling – this time with a lead-off double down the left field line. One out later, a groundout to short by Di Maggio advanced Yzermans to third. Veal followed with a single to center, plating Yzermans.
 
In the bottom of the eighth, Westmont added an insurance run when Veal homered to right field. His 330' 10" towering shot to right center barely cleared the fence, but clear it did for a solo home run.
 
"Isaac did a great job throughout both games offensively and defensively," assessed Svagdis. "He had some big at bats and the home run at the end of game one gave us some breathing room."
 
Vanguard's lone run came in the top of the ninth on a one-out home run to right by Angel Perez.
 
Hammond Hunter started the game for the Warriors and picked up his first win of the season. He pitched six scoreless innings, allowing just three hits while striking out three.
 
Josh Hickey earned a save with a three-inning performance in which he allowed just one run on two hits. Hickey struck out six (two each inning) and allowed just one walk.
 
"The pitching staff and defense did a nice job today keeping us in the games," said Westmont's skipper, Paul Svagdis. "Our staff pitched out of some big bases-loaded situations, which gave us a chance to stay in the game. Hammond set a great tone for the entire staff. It was great to see Hickey back on the mound after taking a line drive off the forearm last week."
 
Hammond pitched his way out of a jam in the fifth inning when the bases were loaded with no outs. Bennett Vondrak hit a line drive back to Hammond who knocked it down with his glove. Hammond then picked up the ball, threw to Brown at home for the force out. Brown then threw the ball to third, forcing out the runner from second. After a walk reloaded the bases, Hammond induced a groundout to shortstop to end the inning.
 
In the second game, Westmont found itself trailing 1-0 after the first inning. The Lions loaded the bases with no outs to start the game and pushed across a run on a groundout to first by Colton Perez. Westmont starting pitcher Caden Beloian got Angel Perez to pop out to first and Jaxson Davis to groundout to first to end the threat.
 
Vanguard added a second run in the top of the second. With men on the corners and two away, Tyler Shigenaka attempted to steal second. A rundown occurred resulting in the third out of the inning, but not before Vondrak scored from third.
 
Westmont took back one run in the bottom of the third after Rolen Reyes drove a double down the right field line to lead off the inning.
 
"Rolen did a great job down at third base, collecting his first collegiate hit," noted Svagdis. "He is a smart baseball player. I'm happy to see him do well today with a big double and run scored."
 
A fly ball to right by Yzermans allowed Reyes to take third. Rico drove in the run with a ball that rolled to the right side of the mound.
 
In the penultimate frame of the seven-inning game, Vanguard increased its lead with another run. After singles by Davis and Nathan Hellein to start the inning, Daniel Rivera singled to center to load the bases. A sacrifice fly by Shigenaka scored Davis to make it a 3-1 game.
 
In the bottom of the sixth, the wheels fell off for Vanguard and Westmont took advantage. Designated hitter Jack Zerkel led off with a walk and stole second on a strikeout. When Colin Callahan grounded out to third, Zerkel took third. With two outs, Reyes worked a walk, giving the Warriors runners on the corners.
 
With Yzermans coming up, Svagdis called an offensive timeout to talk with his lead-off hitter. Then Yzermans walked on four pitches, loading the bases. Before Rico walked to the plate for his bases-loaded at bat, Svagdis called another offensive timeout for another conversation with his hitter.
 
"I just tried to get the guys locked in on elevating the pitcher's breaking ball," explained Svagdis after the game. "He had not put his fastball in the strike zone, so he was going to pitching with his off speed. I tried to get the guys to look for that pitch up, and if it wasn't up, I wanted them to take it because it would run out of the zone."
 
Rico took two balls, then a strike. The fourth pitch of the at bat was a wild pitch that allowed Zerkel to score, bringing the Warriors to within one (3-2). Then, Rico took the next pitch for ball four, reloading the bases with Warriors. After a pitching change, Di Maggio stepped up to the plate.
 
The sophomore took two pitches for balls, then got the pitch he was looking for – a fastball in the zone. The ball left his bat at 111 mph with a launch angle of 17.85 degrees. The grand slam traveled 394 feet over the left field fence, causing celebration in the Warrior dugout. For the first time in the game, Westmont had the lead – a 6-3 advantage that proved to be the winning score.
 
"I was really happy for him," said Svagdis of Di Maggio. "He is one of our hardest workers day in and day out. So, it was great to see him get some outcome."
 
Brandon Tatch improved to 2-0 on the season after pitching the final two innings. He gave up one run on five hits, struck out two and did not give up a walk. Beloian started the game and pitched five innings giving up two runs on six hits.
 
Westmont and Vanguard will reconvene tomorrow, switching venues as the Lions host the Warriors in Costa Mesa for another doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for 11:00 a.m.