Neither rain nor darkness nor extra innings prevented Westmont Baseball (3-3) from completing three games and 30 innings of baseball over the weekend at San Francisco State (2-2). The Warriors outscored their host by a combined 23-16 but captured only one win in the three-game series.

A single game on Saturday – originally scheduled for Friday but moved due to the rain – was suspended due to darkness with the scored tied at 11 after 10 innings. The two teams met at 10:30 the next morning to complete the unfinished game. In the bottom of the fourteenth, the Gators’ second baseman Drew Andersen hit a lead-off double off of reliever Kyle Noe. An RBI single by left fielder Sean Proni brought Andersen home and ended the four hour, 28 minute game.

“We brought Jacob Regalado into pitch (when the game resumed) and he did a great job for us,” said Westmont Head Coach Robert Ruiz. “He gave us a chance to stay in the game.”

[game 1 box score] [game 2 box score] [game 3 box score]

Westmont Baseball scored in each of the first seven innings and took an 11-10 lead into the bottom of the ninth inning, but the Warriors gave up a single run to the host Gators of San Francisco State to send the game into extra innings. After a scoreless tenth inning, the game was suspended due to darkness. The contest will resume at 10:30 p.m. on Sunday, prior to a doubleheader which was moved from today to tomorrow due to rain in the Bay Area.

The Warriors opened the game with two runs in the top of the first inning on a two-RBI single by designated hitter Tim Leary. But the Gators answered back with a two-RBI double by Greg Kline in the bottom half of the inning. In the top of the second, Westmont center fielder Terrell Wong sent a two-run homerun over the left field wall to give Westmont a 4-0 lead.

Despite leading for most of the game, Westmont Baseball (2-1) dropped its first game of the year on Wednesday afternoon at Russ Carr Field, falling 12-8 to #20 California Lutheran (3-0) in nine innings. Tim Leary, the Warriors’ designated hitter, went four for four at the plate with a solo home run, two-doubles, a single and a walk. The sophomore had two RBIs and scored three times.

“Leary did a good job,” said Westmont Head Coach Robert Ruiz. “He is staying aggressive in the right counts like we have asked him to do.”

The Warriors jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the second after Leary led off with a double down the left field line. One out later, third baseman Mark Magdaleno was hit by a pitch to give the Warriors runners on first and second. That brought up the bottom third of the Warriors’ lineup with all three spots manned by freshman.

Catcher Evan Soliman loaded the bases with a single into right field. Right fielder Phil Prickett then singled into center to score Leary and move every one up 90 feet. Shortstop Evan Wadginski followed Prickitt’s lead, picking up two RBI’s with another single to center.

Pricket would go two for four on the day with two RBIs and a run scored.

Opening Day at the newly renovated Russ Carr Field proved to be a truly remarkable day as a standing room only crowd cheered on the 2010 Warriors to a doubleheader sweep of #10 Pomona-Pitzer.

“Our guys really appreciated that so many people came out so support us from the campus and from the community,” said Westmont Head Coach Robert Ruiz. “It meant so much to us to have students, faculty, families and alumni cheering us on. I think our returning guys were shocked at the amount of support we had in the stands today.”

The day began with a stirring rendition of the national anthem by Stephanie Garcia and a ceremonial first pitch by Westmont President Dr. Gayle Beebe. Then the two teams took the field for the first game ever played at the new park.

The early going did not look so good for the Warriors when James Kang hit a leadoff homerun to give the Sagehens an early lead. But it proved to be a minor blemish on a fine performance by Westmont starter Daniel Cabuling.

“Daniel did a great job,” said Ruiz. “He had great composure on the mound even though there was all kinds of excitement with the first game on the new field and a lot of people in the stands cheering and supporting. The third pitch of the ball game goes out over the right-center gap. It says a lot about his mental makeup and composer as a pitcher that he came right back and threw strikes and kept us in the game. He was positive in the dugout and had a great tempo on the mound. He hung in there and gave us a shot to come back and win that game. We were really excited about his first outing for us as a starter.”

[game 1 box] [game 2 box]

Fourteen months after the Tea Fire of Montecito, the hills above the picturesque campus of Westmont College have sprung to life in a brilliant shade of green. The scene offers the promise of new beginnings and the excitement of new life.

Nowhere is that excitement felt more than on the college’s baseball field where new head coach Robert Ruiz and the 2010 Warriors will launch the inaugural season of the completely renovated Russ Carr Field. The beautiful baseball-only facility includes two bull pens and two batting cages, new dugouts, a batter’s eye, a scoreboard, a covered press area and easy access for fans.

The season begins at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday with a double-header against Pomona-Pitzer.

The alumni celebration scheduled for Saturday, January 23, will take place despite a solid week of rain in the Santa Barbara area. This year’s baseball team and alumni will meet at the newly renovated Russ Carr Field at 9:30 a.m.

Weather and field conditions have resulted in the cancellation of the alumni game. However, alumni are invited to come and meet the team, tour the new facility, take a few swings in the new batting cages (weather permitting) and enjoy other baseball related activities.

The Annual Alumni Banquet will take place at the Canary Hotel at 6:00 p.m. For online registration, please go to: http://www.westmont.edu/alumni/.

For Westmont Baseball, the best present of the holiday season was an opportunity to practice on the newly renovated Russ Carr Field for the first time today. Work began on the new field in early May of 2009 and since then the team has practiced on the Abbott Tennis Courts and shared Lovik Field with the men’s and women’s soccer teams and the cross country teams.

Features of the new facility include two large dugouts, a state of the art drainage structure, two batting cages, a three-man and a two-man bullpen, a 35-feet high batters eye and a mesh backstop.

“Our guys have worked hard all fall to prepare for this day,” said first year head coach Robert Ruiz. “It is a special day for the group, for the program and the alumni. It is a beautiful facility and we could not have asked for anything better. The natural grass infield is perfectly flat and we are getting true hops. The three-man bullpen in left field allowed us to get six bullpen (sessions) in a third of the time it took us this fall off a portable mound. We are excited about everything and feel appreciative.”

“It feels great,” said junior infielder Jordan Bottenfield about practicing in the new facility, “especially for me after being here for two years. The field is great and the scenery around it is great too. It feels very professional out here.”

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Fans of Westmont Athletics can now receive text message alerts on their cell phones or by email.

The eScores service will allow subscribers to choose to receive text messages on any or all of the 12 Westmont Athletic Teams. Users can elect to receive scores, broadcast reminders and headlines and general information. With the new service, Westmont fans will receive information about their favorite teams and players faster than ever.

The eScores service will be offered free of charge, though standard text messaging fees from a users’ cell phone provider will apply.

To sign-up for text messaging, visit the Westmont Athletics Web Site and click on the eScores logo.