The Westmont baseball team made history on Thursday afternoon by winning the first Division 2 regional game in program and school history for any sport.
The Warriors are hosting the NCAA Division II West Regional at Russ Carr Field, and a 3-2 victory over San Francisco State was a major milestone after transitioning from NAIA to Division 2
Westmont ace Ryan Humphreys delivered once again with seven strong innings, in which he surrendered two runs on five hits. With the victory, he improved to 12-1 this season.
Grant Yzermans got the Westmont offense going in the bottom of the first inning with a lead-off single; he stole second and advanced to third on an overthrow.
Visiting San Francisco State scored both of its runs in the top of the third inning. The Gators loaded the bases with no outs, and a sac fly by Daniel Murillo tied the score at 1-1.
Nicholas Allred followed with a double to right-center field that brought home Nicholas Cook and gave San Francisco State a 2-1 lead. However, Humphreys limited the damage with back-to-back strikeouts in the clutch to escape the inning.
The Warriors retook the lead in the top of the seventh inning with a two-out rally. Bryce McFeely doubled to right-center field to score Zach Mora and even the score at 2-2.
Trey Dunn gave Westmont the lead for good, 3-2, with a single to left field that scored Daniel Patterson.
Zach Yates pitched out of trouble in the eighth and the ninth innings to secure the victory and earn his 13th save of the season.
With the loss, San Francisco State was bounced from the double elimination tournament. Last March, San Francisco State announced that the baseball program, along with men’s soccer and women’s indoor track and field, would not continue after the end of this season.
The Warriors will play Cal State Monterey Bay on Friday, who advanced by defeating San Francisco State 7-3 in the first game of the day. The regional now boils down to a best of three series between the two teams.
You must be logged in to post a comment.