Westmont suffered its first loss of the 2012 baseball season, falling to Cal State Monterey Bay 4-3 on Friday afternoon in Monterey.
The two teams will face-off again tomorrow in a doubleheader beginning at 11:00 a.m.
“The guys battled back, which was good to see,” said Westmont head coach Robert Ruiz. “We have some things to work on, but looking back on it we did some good things as well and the team kept fighting.”
The Otters scored a single run in the bottom of the first inning. Leadoff batter Matt Urakami was issued a walk by starting pitcher Geoff Rocha (0-1) and later scored on a sacrifice fly by first baseman Brian Haggett.
Cal State Monterey Bay added another run in the bottom of the third inning, also the result of a leadoff walk. Shortstop Jason Merjano walked, took second on a wild pitch and reached third on a pass ball. He scored from third when Haggett ground into a double play.
The Warriors (0-1-1) pulled to within one run in the top of the fifth. With one away catcher Jarratt Rouse was hit by a pitch. Shortstop Brent Fukushima reached on an error by the Otters’ shortstop.
Both runners moved up a base on a wild pitch, giving the Warriors men on second and third with one away. Rouse scored on a sacrifice fly to center field by second baseman David Pennington, but Fukushima was left stranded at second when the inning came to an end.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Otters took back the run they had conceded. After center fielder Danny Nelson was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, Haggett singled through the right side of the infield to advance Nelson to third. Second baseman David Garcia then singled up the middle to pick up the RBI.
In the bottom of the sixth, Cal State Monterey Bay added another run on a solo home run to right field by Urakami.
Westmont scored twice in the top of the seventh to put the Warriors back in the game. Left fielder William Barring led off the inning with a single through the left side, then advanced to second when third baseman David Gabel did the same.
Pinch hitter Thomas Hocutt struck out on a ball in the dirt and Gabel and Barring advanced on the base pads on the wild pitch. One out later, Pennington singled through the right side to drive in two runs. However, the Warriors would not score again.
Rocha was charged with the loss after pitching two and two-third innings. He gave up two runs (one earned) on just one hit but walked eight.
Ryan Sullivan pitched two and one third innings in relief, allowing one run on two hits. Sullivan struck out one and did not surrender a walk. Taylor Martin pitched the final three-innings for the Warriors, also giving up one run on two hits. Martin struck out two without allowing a walk.
“Sully came in, got us out of a tough situation, and pitched some good innings in relief,” said Ruiz. “Taylor had a great outing as a freshman. He gave up the home run, but he also retired the last seven batters that he faced.”
