LA MIRADA — Westmont Baseball got a sneak peak of PacWest baseball — which it will begin playing next season — when the Warriors traveled to La Mirada on Tuesday to match up with Biola.
The Warriors, now 28-7, brought home a 10-1 victory on the strength of 13 hits and solid pitching.
Both squads pitched bullpen games with the Warriors sending seven men to the mound and the Eagles sending nine. The strategy allows both programs to preserve their regular starters for conference games this coming weekend. Collectively, Westmont hurlers allowed just three hits over the game’s nine innings. They struck out five and walked six.
David Martinez was credited with his first career win. The senior faced five batters in the second and third innings without allowing a hit or a run.
Offensively, the Warriors put up multiple runs in the four, fifth, sixth and seventh innings. In the fourth, Trey Dunn’s lead-off walk was followed by a single up the middle by Justin Rodriguez. Then, Michael Soper laid down a bunt single. An error on the play allowed Dunn to score, Rodriguez to take third and Soper to advance to second, tying the score at one run apiece.
Rodriguez scored the Warriors’ second run on a passed ball with Soper advancing to third. Soper scored the third run when Kevin Tsuji singled to right.
In the fifth, Westmont tacked on two more runs when Soper doubled to left field with the bases loaded, driving in Dunn and Liam Critchett.
Brady Renck started off the top of the sixth with a double to right center, then scored on a home run to left by Ryan DeSaegher, giving the Warriors a 7-1 lead.
DeSaegher drove in three more runs in the seventh inning when he tripled with the bases loaded, bringing his RBI total to five.
Westmont will return to Golden State Athletic Conference play on Friday and Saturday when Arizona Christian makes its way to Montecito for a three-game series. Originally, scheduled for March 10 and 11, the games were postponed due to rain. The two teams will play a doubleheader on Friday and a single game on Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. on both days.
With nine games remaining in the GSAC season, Westmont is in first place with a one and one-half game lead over second-place Hope International and a two and one-half game lead over third-place Vanguard. Arizona Christian is three games back of Westmont.