Justin Sanders earned his fourth win of the season for the Westmont baseball team in the opener of a rain make-up GSAC doubleheader with San Diego Christian on Sunday at Russ Carr Field.
Westmont took the first game 9-3 from the Hawks but dropped the second 3-1.
Sanders, who lowered his season ERA to 1.08, pitched six innings allowing three unearned runs on five hits. He walked one and struck out five.
After the Hawks opened the scoring with a single run in the top of the second, the Warriors responded by putting across five runs in the bottom half of the inning. With the bases loaded, senior second baseman Taylor Garcia was walked to bring home Drew Bayard, tying the score at one.
Freshman catcher Simon Reid then blasted a three-run triple to left field. Senior first baseman Travis Vander Molen followed with a single through the left side to score Reid and give the Warriors a 5-1 advantage.
Vander Molen’s doubled down the right-field line for two RBI in the fourth and Devin Perez picked up the third run of the inning with a single through the right side that scored Vander Molen from second.
Vander Molen went 4 for 5 in the first game and drove in four runs
Westmont’s offense disappeared in the second game as the Warriors managed just one hit against junior right-hander Keanu Walkush who picked up the complete-game win for the Hawks.
The Warriors’ lone run came in the bottom of the first when Vander Molen delivered a sacrifice fly to left field to drive in Paul Mezurashi from third base.
With one-quarter of the conference season in the books, the Warriors find themselves tied for first place with Hope International (13-5, 6-2) in the GSAC standings.