The Warriors collected all six of their hits in the fifth inning and posted seven runs as Westmont Baseball (11-28, 7-21 GSAC) earn a 7-1 Golden State Athletic Conference victory over Concordia (22-19, 12-16 GSAC) in the second game of a doubleheader at Russ Carr Field. The Warriors dropped the first game 8-1.
Tim Leary pitched a complete seven-inning game, allowing just one run on four hits. The big right-hander allowed two walks and struck out four. With the win, Leary improves his record to 2-2.
Right fielder Coby Cress led off the bottom of the fifth with a walk and then advanced to third on a double down the right field line by first baseman Colten Christianson. That brought up center fielder Terrell Wong who put the Warriors up 3-1 with a home run to left.
“Colten had a great at bat,” said Wong. “He saw a lot of pitches and wound up doubling to right. From the on deck circle, I saw that (the pitcher) was throwing a lot of balls. When I got in the box, he started me off with three straight balls. Coach gave me the take after that. I saw a fastball middle-in and I decided that was the pitch I was going to look for again. He threw it again and I just happened to get it all.”
Following Wong’s home run, Eagles’ starting pitcher Daniel Heben was replaced on the mound by Blake Harrison. Heben (3-1) was charged with the loss even though he allowed just two hits in four-plus innings of work. Harrison, who faced five batters, gave up four runs on four hits without retiring a Warrior.
Left fielder Geoff Rocha, the first to face Harrison, singled through the right side and then stole second base. Third baseman Chris Ramirez followed with a single to right, advancing Rocha to third. Taylor Maples, pinch hitting for shortstop Evan Wadginski, drove in Rocha on a single to center, giving the Warriors a 4-1 lead.
With runners and first and second and no one yet retired, catcher Mark Magdaleno was hit by a pitch to load the bases. That brought up Bottenfield who singled through the right side to score both Maples and Ramirez. Magdaleno took third on the play.
With Leary coming up to bat, Harrison was replaced on the hill by Jacob McBride. Leary checked his swing on the first pitch, but the ball made contact with the bat and scooted toward second. The Eagles turned a 6-4-3 double play as Magdaleno crossed the plate for the seventh run of the inning.
In the opening game, Concordia’s Dean Persinger took a no-hitter into the bottom of the eighth inning and retired Cress for the first out. But Christianson ruined the no-no bid with a single down the right field line. Wong then singled to center, resulting in men on first and second with one away. Rocha made it three hits in a row with a single up the middle which allowed Christianson to score. But that would be the Warriors’ only run of the game.
Persinger was awarded the win after pitching eight innings and allowing just one run on three hits. The Eagles’ starter allowed two walks and struck out five. Westmont starter Kyle Noe was charged with the loss. Noe pitched two innings, giving up four runs on four hits. Noe was replaced by Gregg Pellici who gave up three runs on three hits in six innings of work.
The Warriors will take on #9 Point Loma Nazarene (30-11-1, 19-9 GSAC) next week in a four-game series. On Wednesday, Westmont will host the Sea Lions in a doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for eleven o’clock. Then on Saturday, the Warriors will travel down the coast for a twin-bill in San Diego. Game time on Saturday is at noon.
