By Ron Smith
February 6, 2026
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) Opening Day at Russ Carr Field saw Westmont Baseball claim its first win of the year with a 14-3 trouncing of the Coyotes of Cal State San Bernardino (1-4). The Warriors tallied 15 hits, including five for extra bases.
 
Hunter Hammond started the game and worked three and one-third innings. He was relieved by Josh Hickey who pitched four and two-thirds innings. Then, Manny Soto pitched the ninth.
 
"They did a great job," expressed Westmont's head coach Paul Svagdis about his hurlers. "We talk about making teams earn it. They didn't walk a guy in nine innings. When you can do that, you are going to be in good shape. That is a big priority for us. We talk a lot about next-pitch mentality. Even when a pitcher got behind 1-0, they came back and would throw a strike and get back in the count. I was really pleased with the way those three pitched."
 
Hammond started the game by striking out three of the first four batters he faced. He gave up three runs on four hits and struck out three.
 
"Hunter looked really good today," assessed Svagdis. "He looked close to a number one today. The ball was coming out of his hand nicely. He had a good breaking ball and he competed."
 
Hickey did not allow a hit in nearly five innings of work. He struck out six and retired 14 of the 15 batters he faced.
 
"Josh did really well," said Svagdis. "He filled the zone up and competed. He is an awesome young man. It is fun to see him have success."
 
Soto retired all three batters he faced in the ninth inning, including one by strikeout.
 
"For Manny, it was the first time since I got here that he got on the mound," pointed out Svagdis. "I thought he did terrific."
 
The Coyotes drew first blood, scoring a run in the first inning. With one away, Jeremy Giesengh reached on an infield single, then stole second. One out later, Eddie Alfaro drove in Giesengh with a single to center field.
 
Westmont wasted no time recapturing the lead. Colin Callahan started the bottom of the first with an infield single. Joey Rico then singled to right, allowing Callahan to take third. Grant Yzermans came to the plate and doubled to right field, advancing Rico to third and driving in Callahan to tie the game at one run apiece.
 
Yzermans went three for three on the day, scoring three times and driving in three runs. He also walked twice.
 
"He is a real mature hitter," said Svagdis of his left fielder. "He is one of the few guys that has had every-day starts as a positional player. So it is cool to see him have a good day. He is a tough at bat, does a good job of understanding the strike zone, and swings aggressively. I was really happy for him."
 
One out later, Tanner Beltowski singled to left. Rico scored the Warriors' second run, but Yzermans was thrown out at the plate on a good throw from the Coyotes' Tyson Pettingill.
 
The score remained 2-1 until the bottom of the third. After Rico was hit by a pitch, Yzermans deposited the ball 337 feet over the right-center field fence for a two-run home run. It was the 11th home run of his Westmont career.
 
The Coyotes responded quickly. Dom Dominguez led off the top of the fourth with a single down the left field line that Rico nicely cut off to prevent extra bases. However, Eddie Alfaro sent a shot down the left field line that cleared the fence and drew San Bernardino to within one run (4-3).
 
Westmont would more than answer back in the bottom of the fourth, scoring eight runs. With one away, Griffin Brown singled through the right side, then stole second. Zach Mora drove in Brown with a double down the right field line, giving Westmont a 5-3 advantage.
 
A single by Callahan through the left side moved Mora to third. With runners on the corners, a wild pitch allowed Mora to score and Callahan to take second.  Rico and then Yzermans were both walked, bring up Joseph Castillo, who earned an RBI when he too was walked. That brought up Beltowski who delivered an RBI-single to right, driving in Rico.
 
"Cal is doing great playing second base," offered Svagdis. "There is a lot of grit in that young man. He is coming off of shoulder surgery and battling through that. He is an excellent ballplayer. I am really glad we have him. He understands the game really well."
 
Next up was freshman Lukas Le Gras, who hit a dribbler off his bat between first base and the pitcher's mound. To his credit, Le Gras hustled down the line as the first baseman fielded the ball and threw to the pitcher covering first. The ball was dropped by the pitcher as Yzermans scored. Le Gras was called out at first, but after a conference by the umpires the call was reversed and the bases remained loaded with Warriors.
 
With the score now 9-3, Isaac Veal stepped to the plate and doubled down the left field line driving in all three baserunners and giving Westmont a 12-3 margin.
 
In the bottom of the fifth, Westmont added to their lead. After Rico singled up the middle, he was replaced with freshman Jack Zerkel as a pinch runner. An attempt to pick-off Zerkel by the Coyotes' catcher went awry and Zerkel advanced to second on the error.
 
After Yzermans was walked, Beltowski hit a deep shot into left-center field that took one bounce and cleared the fence for a ground-rule double. Zerkel scored, but Yzermans was prevented from scoring by the unfortunate bounce that only allowed him to advance two bases.
 
"Beltowski swung it pretty well," said Svagdis. "He had some really good at bats and some big RBIs in some big situations. I was really happy with him."
 
Beltowski was three of four at the plate and drove in three runs.
 
The final run of the game came in the bottom of the seventh. After Yzermans singled to left, Castillo and Beltowski were walked to load the bases with Warriors. A wild pitch allowed Yzermans to score.
 
"It was good to get some young guys out there," said Svagdis who substituted freely in the late innings. "They looked young, but it was nice to have an opportunity to put a guy like Zerkel in the game."
 
The two teams will meet up again on Saturday at Russ Carr Field for a double-header beginning at 11:00 a.m.