A pair of extra-base hits from Graylin Derke and a home run from Turner Conrad sparked No. 7 Westmont Baseball to an 8-4 Golden State Athletic Conference comebackwin over Biola on Friday afternoon at Russ Carr Field.
The win extends Westmont’s Friday win streak to 15 games in a row, dating back to April 10, 2015 and puts
the Warriors 30 games over .500 for the first time in program history.
Westmont’s Daniel Butler (10-1) had a rocky start and gave up four runs in the third inning. But after the Warriors (37-7, 21-4 GSAC) responded with seven runs in the bottom half of the inning, Butler settled in and allowed just three hits in the remaining six innings for a complete-game victory.
Butler became just the 10th Warrior to win 10 games in a single season and is just two wins off the record for single-season wins held by Rich Sorenson (1962) and Russell Harmening (2014), both of whom finished 12-3.
Biola’s half of the third inning got started with a triple to left center by Andrew Rodriguez. One out later, JD Meyer was hit by a pitch, giving the Eagles runners on the corners. Alec DeWatteville then stepped to the plate and delivered a home run over the left field fence to put the Eagles up 3-0.
Jeremy Barth followed with a single and reached second on a bunt single by Jimmy Gallarada. The Eagles then loaded the bases courtesy of a single up the middle by Jonas Wellan. Barth, now at third, scored on a sacrifice fly by Jerron Largusa.
The bottom of the third proved to be even more fruitful. Alika McGuire led off with a single to centerfield and one out later reached second on a walk to Michael Stefanic. A single to right center by Michael Frigon loaded the bases.
Westmont’s first two runs came on a double to center by Alex Bush, making it a 4-2 game in favor of the Eagles. Costa was then intentionally walked loading the bases. After a strikeout by Derek Rodigo, Derke drilled a triple to deep center field to pick three RBIs and give Westmont a 5-4 lead. Next, Turner Conrad cleared the left-field fence to add two more to the Warriors’ totals.
The only other run came in the bottom of the seventh inning. Bush was hit by a pitch. One out later, Rodigo hit a ground ball to third that could have resulted in an inning-ending double play. However, Bush was off to second with the pitch and beat the throw. The ball was then relayed to first where Rodigo was retired. Derke came up next and hit a ball to deep right center for a double to drive home Bush for the final run of the game.
With the win, Westmont reduced its magic number to win the GSAC Championship to five. Vanguard (35-10-1) remained one game back of the Warriors by defeating The Master’s in Santa Clarita (29-15, 14-11) by a score of 6-1.
Westmont and Biola will conclude the series Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m.