Despite solid pitching performances from junior left-handers Jacob Regalado and Gregg Pellici, Westmont Baseball suffered a 5-3 loss to The Master’s on Wednesday afternoon at Russ Carr Field. Jacob Regalado was charged with the loss while Zack Anderson picked up the complete game win for the Mustangs.
“I thought that Regalado was poised on the mound,” said Westmont Head Coach Robert Ruiz of his starter. “He gave us a chance to be in that ball game. He was competitive and under control. He worked well with (catcher) Mark Magdaleno. He kept hitters off balance and kept the ball in the strike zone. We were happy with his outing.”
Regalado pitched six innings, giving up five runs, four of which were earned, on 10 hits. He struck out three and walked one. Pellici, who has recently moved into a reliever role, was brought in to pitch in the top of the seventh inning. Pellici delivered three scoreless innings and allowed just one hit.
Westmont is still in the playoff hunt, and this week's series against The Master's is an important one.
“Gregg had another great outing,” said Ruiz. “He pitched effectively in the reliever role and kept us in the game. We’re happy to see his progress. Our ability to hold leads has not been great and I think he is the missing piece. I think he will serve this team better out of the bullpen.”
Where the Warriors suffered was with the bats in their hands. Westmont tallied just seven hits and left nine men on base.
“I’m not excited about the way we performed offensively,” said Ruiz. “We just weren’t focused enough. (Anderson) kept us off balance and we chased pitches we shouldn’t have chased. As a group, we didn’t do what we needed to do win a baseball game.
“Some of the mistakes we made offensively came back to hurt us,” continued the coach. “As soon as we clean that up we can play with any team in this league. I have confidence in our team but we need to bring a higher level of focus to the field every day and it just wasn’t there today.”
The Warriors took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning. After left fielder Terrell Wong led off with a single through the left side of the infield, shortstop Jordan Bottenfield doubled to right center, advancing Wong to third. Designated hitter Tim Leary was issued an intentional walk to load the bases with no outs.
Wong scored when first baseman Colten Christianson hit a ground ball to second base. Christianson reached on the fielder’s choice but Leary was thrown out at second. With runners on the corners with one out, Westmont was unable to add more runs in the inning.
The Mustangs tied the score at one run each in the top of the fourth. Caleb Mintz singled to center to lead off the inning and reached second on a passed ball. A single by Jared Otto put runners on the corners. Mintz scored on a double play ball to short.
Westmont took a 2-1 advantage in the bottom of the fifth. With one away, Anderson walked Leary and then hit first baseman Colten Christianson with a pitch to put runners at first and second. An RBI-single down the left field line by right fielder Coby Cress scored Leary from second base.
The big blow came in the top of the sixth inning when the Mustangs scored four runs. With one out, Mintz singled up the middle. Otto then homered over the left field fence to give The Master’s a 3-2 lead.
After Regalado retired the next batter, Steve Vranau doubled to left.and Nick Jorgensen was hit by a pitch. Both runners scored when Parker Priced double down the left field line.
The Warriors picked up their final run in the bottom of the sixth inning. Third baseman Chris Ramirez struck out to lead of the inning, but the final strike turned into a passed ball and Ramirez made it safely to first. Zeke Torres, who served as a pinch runner for Ramirez, reached second on a ground ball to short and later scored on a single up the middle by Bottenfield.
The two teams will meet up again tomorrow beginning at three o’clock at Russ Carr Field. On Saturday, Westmont will travel to Santa Clarita to finish up the four game series with a doubleheader. First pitch on Saturday is at noon.
