This past weekend, Westmont baseball faced San Diego Christian (SDC) Hawks in a two-day, four-game series at home. Despite having to deal with the fatigue that comes with playing so many games in such a short period of time, the Warriors were able to take all four games against SDC, capping the weekend off with a comfortable 10-1 victory in game four. The rest of the weekend was full of intense, down-to-the-wire games that proved Westmont baseball’s tenacious spirit. 

When asked about the first three games, left fielder Lennie Rodriguez said, “It wasn’t exactly what we wanted at first. The first two games were walk-off wins, so we were biting our nails basically all day. Some crucial plays and hits were made in the third game that kept us on top.”

This series was anything but smooth sailing. Rodriguez wound up getting hit by a pitch three times on Saturday. Both of Friday’s victories were come-from-behind wins. All but one of the games came down to either clutch hitting or clutch pitching. 

Luckily, the team had big showings from sophomore pitchers Robbie Haw and Ryan Humphreys, as well as a wonderful start from pitcher Gabe Arteaga, who held SDC to two runs and led Westmont to another victory on Saturday. 

Fighting through a four-game series like this and coming out on top is sure to boost any team’s confidence, and it seems like confidence is key. In a season riddled with COVID-19 restrictions and struggles, holding onto team spirit is crucial for a successful season.

Rodriguez talked about how COVID-19 has affected the team:

“We have a lot of young guys, so getting to know them while also doing our best to follow protocol has been the biggest struggle of all. I’d say, at this point in our year together, all 50 of us get along really well. We’ve played with each other for months now, and all of us hang out off the field in some capacity or other.”

When asked what the rest of the year holds for the team, he seemed positive that the future is bright:

“You could say that we started off pretty hot. If we keep playing like this, we should be setting ourselves up for a lot of success. We always say our goal is to get to Lewiston to win a championship, and our team is filled top-to-bottom with guys who can get us there.”

This is good news for Westmont baseball, because the season shows no signs of slowing down. Their next matchups include Azusa Pacific next weekend, Fullerton on March 5, and Hope International on March 6.