WALK IT OFF

By Brandon Petersen

Whenever you beat BenU Baseball, you've accomplished something. To do it walk-off fashion? Well, that's the cherry on top.

Westcliff erased a late deficit Friday afternoon at OC Great Park, rallying in the final two innings to defeat Benedictine Mesa 8-7 on a dramatic walk-off single up the middle from Alex Chacon in the bottom of the ninth.

The win did not come easy.

BenU pushed Westcliff throughout the afternoon, answering multiple Warrior rallies and taking a 7-6 lead in the top of the ninth on Cooper Jeffries' RBI single.

But as has become a trend early this season, Westcliff's lineup refused to fold, setting the stage for a clutch final sequence engineered in part by head coach Dylan Hoffman.

"BenU's a great team, very well coached," Hoffman said. "It was a dogfight throughout the whole time, back and forth. But at the end of the day, our bats came in clutch when they needed to."

Westcliff finished with 18 hits, including multi-hit performances from Landon Raskin (3-for-5), Patrick Morgan (4-for-5), AJ Quezada (3-for-4), and Martin Sanchez (2-for-5).

Morgan continued his torrid stretch at the plate, driving in a run with a sixth-inning single, while Raskin's RBI triple in the fourth helped build an early cushion.

After falling behind early, Westcliff struck first with a three-run third inning highlighted by Ryan Duron's RBI double to the fence in left-center and Quezada's run-scoring single.

The Warriors added another in the fourth on Raskin's oppo triple, but BenU answered in the middle innings, tying the game on Oliver Davies' two-run homer before taking a 6-5 lead later in the seventh.

Hoffman's fingerprints were all over the late innings as the Warriors worked their way back into the game.

In the eighth, Amerson Dix reached on a pinch-hit single before advancing on a sacrifice bunt from Kailen Kimata — one of several situational plays that helped set up the tying run.

"I trust our bats more than anything," Hoffman said. "But the biggest thing now is we have the depth and discipline at the plate. Bunting is a part of our game — really our lifestyle."

Westcliff tied the game at 6-6 on Sanchez's RBI fielder's choice before the dramatic ninth inning unfolded.

Trailing by one entering their final at-bats, the Warriors began the rally when Ryan Duron reached on an error and Ian Carr entered as a pinch runner.

Hoffman then made a key decision, calling on Jack Varney to pinch-hit in a high-pressure situation. After falling behind 0-2 in the count, Varney battled back to draw a six-pitch walk, shifting momentum and loading pressure onto BenU's pitching staff.

"For me to take Q out when he's three-for-three is something I thought about," Hoffman said. "But Varney is someone who likes to take pitches and get deep into counts. The pitcher had a lot of stress on him right there, and we trusted him."

The move paid off immediately. After a single from Riley Vogt loaded the bases, Nick Malvini drew a walk to force in the tying run.

Moments later, Chacon stepped in and delivered the game-winner, bringing home David Madera Jr. and sending the Warriors pouring out of the dugout.

"I just told Alex to go up there and have fun and see what happens," Hoffman said. "He's finding his groove again, and he had the biggest hit for us tonight."

Westcliff's bullpen also played a key role, with Andrew Wright (W) stabilizing the middle innings before Daniel Vendl recorded the final out.

The victory showcased both the depth of the lineup, and the tactical flexibility Hoffman has emphasized early this season, as the skipper pushed all the right buttons late to secure the comeback win.

Game 2 — Benedictine Mesa 5, Westcliff 4

Westcliff nearly completed the Friday sweep but fell just short in the nightcap, as Benedictine Mesa edged the Warriors 5-4 in a tightly contested matchup.

The two sides traded momentum throughout the game, with Westcliff answering early runs behind timely hitting from Ryan Duron, Patrick Morgan, and Carson Kawaguchi.

Duron finished a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate, while Kawaguchi delivered a key RBI triple to help the Warriors take a 4-3 lead in the fifth inning.

BenU rallied late, tying the game in the seventh on a wild pitch before pushing across the go-ahead run moments later.

Westcliff finished with nine hits but was unable to mount a comeback in the bottom half of the inning against Eric Godinez, who closed the door to secure the split.