Westmont College Athletics

By Ron Smith
May 2, 2026
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) A dribbler in front of the plate and a throw to first by Westmont catcher Griffin Brown resulted in the final out of today's doubleheader with Menlo and clinched a berth for the Warriors in next week's PacWest Baseball Championship. Westmont's two wins by scores of 2-0 and 5-2, gave the Warriors a final regular season record of 29-19 overall and 25-17 in PacWest play.
 
In the first game, Josh Hickey and Manny Soto combined for a shutout. Hickey pitched the first three innings, allowing just one hit. He struck out one and walked one. Soto, who improved his record to 3-0, allowed just three hits in six innings. He struck out six and walked one.
 
The Warriors recorded their first run in the bottom of the second. With two away, Zach Mora doubled to right center. That brought up Jesse Di Maggio who drove a deep shot to center. Mora scored what proved to be the winning run, but Di Maggio was thrown out attempting to stretch his RBI-single into a double.
 
In the top of the third, Menlo's Brayden Wilson reached on a one-out walk before Shane Aldridge sent a moonshot to deep right field. Westmont right fielder Noah Williams tracked the ball to the warning track, waited at the base of the fence, then timed his leap to catch the ball before it hit the outfield wall.
 
Mora started things off for the Warriors in the bottom of the fifth with a single up the middle, then advanced to second when Di Maggio walked. After Mora stole third base, Brown sent a 1-1 pitch to right field for a sacrifice fly that provided Westmont a 2-0 lead. As it turned out, that would be the final score.
 
With one win in the books, Westmont needed just one more to assure itself a place in the PacWest Tournament. Head coach Paul Svagdis sent Matt Vasquez to the mound and the freshman provided five innings of work, allowing two runs on four hits. As the winning pitcher, Vasquez improved his record to 4-4.
 
KJ Rieden earned his second save of the year by pitching two scoreless innings. Though he allowed two hits, Rieden induced two ground balls that turned into double plays to erase any threat.
 
Menlo scored first in the nightcap when Aldridge sent the first pitch of the game over the center field fence, giving the Oaks an early 1-0 lead.
 
However, a two-out rally in the bottom of the second put the Warriors on top.  After Di Maggio singled through the left side, Brown and Jayden Mingus were both walked to load the bases. That brought up Williams who beat out a throw off a slow roller to short, driving in Di Maggio and keeping the bases loaded.
 
With the score tied, the Warriors benefited from some productive baserunning. Mingus induced a throw to second base by the Menlo catcher. As soon as the throw left the catcher's hand, Brown broke for home. Mingus was ultimately thrown out at third, but not before Brown had put the Warriors on top 2-1.
 
Menlo responded in the top of the third with a solo home run to left by Jack van Gorkum, tying the game at two runs apiece.
 
That changed on the first pitch in the bottom of the fourth with Brown reversing the vector on a fastball and sending it 378 feet over the left field fence. The ball left Brown's bat at 102 mph.
 
Then in the bottom of the fifth, Joey Rico added insurance runs with a 361-foot, two-RBI blast to right center. Rico's home run left the bat at 104 mph and drove in Veal who had reached on an error.
 
Rieden and the Warriors made the score hold up through two more innings, securing that victory and the tournament berth.
 
The PacWest Tournament, which consists of a four-team double-elimination tournament, begins on Wednesday, May 6 at Russ Carr Field. The Warriors, who are the number four seed, will take on top-seeded Point Loma (41-10, 37-7) in the tournament's first game at 11:00 a.m. Concordia (29-23, 27-17), the second seed, will take on third-seed Fresno Pacific (32-24, 27-17) at 2:30 p.m.
 
Three games, including two elimination games, are scheduled for Thursday, beginning at 9:00 a.m. Then on Friday, the first championship game will be played at 11:00 a.m. If needed, a winner-take-all game will commence at 2:30 p.m.