Warriors Tough as Nails in Impressive Win

By Brandon Petersen

The Westcliff baseball team picked up such an impressive 8-4 comeback win over fellow Cal Pac wins-leader Antelope Valley Friday at the Great Park, it's hard to decide who to heap praise on the most.

Was it Nolan Wasson, dubbed "Papa" by his teammates, who led the way at the plate with a brillliant 4-for-4 performance that included two RBIs and three runs scored?

Was it Zane Parmenter, who had the biggest knock of the day, a two-run single to right that tied it at four in the bottom of the sixth?

Maybe it was Jack Barrios, who gave the Warriors the lead for good at 6-4 when he drilled a shot to the gap in left-center that the Pioneers struggled to field cleanly.

It could have been Eddie Rios, who didn't miss his scheduled start after injuring himself a week ago, then scattered five hits and struck out four through four and a third.

It also could have been Keith Hale, who added an important RBI single to make it 4-2 in the fourth, and spent the day tracking down a seemingly endless supply of towering fly balls. 

If asked themselves, the Warriors may have picked Julian Tristan, who scored his first win in his first extended action of the season. 

Tristan went four and two-thirds shutout innings, striking out a pair and allowing nothing on four scattered. 

"You see the kid work in practice and it's phenomenal," Barrios said. "He has one of the best work ethics we have. Everyone believes in him. 

"We kind of expected him to come in and shove."

Barrios, an ironclad backstop and battery mate of the highest quality, has nonetheless seen his fair share of struggles at the plate this season. 

His double to left gave the Warriors a two-run lead after having clawed back from 4-0 down, and absolutely erupted the dugout, which couldn't wait to greet Barrios as he trotted off. 

"Baseball's hard right?" He asked. "Struggled last year, struggled the beginning of this year, but the team, the coaches, and, most importantly, my family — you know, you get that text from your dad every morning saying, 'You got this. I know what you can do.' 

"Yeah, that feels good. But I've never doubted myself, my team doesn't doubt me, and neither would my parents."

Westcliff out-hit Antelope Valley, a vaunted offense with talent up and down the lineup. After an error helped extend the Pioneers' four-run fourth, the Warriors bounced right back in the home half to cut it 4-2. 

Wasson sparked the offense, scoring Ulysses Duran with a single to center. 

Papa then put on an encore act in the seventh, when he hit Duran home again for a 7-4 lead, then scored himself on an other-way single from Caleb Castanchoa. 

"You look at good teams, and why are teams winning these games," Barrios said. "We played good teams early, and we know now, on the other side of that, what it takes to win. 

"We got that feeling. We know how to win close games. We're on that train now and we're going."

Barrios was asked if the win sent a message across the diamond to UAV. 

"It's always good to send a message," Barrios said. "They're a well-coached team. A good hitting team. But, we always know — we only lose when we beat ourselves. 

"If we come out here and play Warrior baseball, then no one's going to stop us."

Westcliff head coach David Shermet was extremely happy with his squad afterward, particularly about Tristan's extended run. 

"That was the plan," he said. "I wanted Rios, who's coming off an injury, to go five, and JT four. Well, it was the other way around.

"I told JT, 'It's time to ramp up your innings.' He had an injury, we held him out, he looks good, he feels good and it's time to get him more time on the mound. 

"He did everything we asked him to. He threw five shutout innings, and he was the man."

The Warriors' offense has really rounded into shape.

Westcliff (6-1 Cal Pac, 12-9 overall) is getting contributions up and down the lineup, they boast more than their fair share of clutch base hits, and they are deep — the Warriors routinely sit extremely talented bats and keep them available to pinch-hit in late-game situations. 

Parmenter has been a huge factor in the production. 

"Zane didn't start out as a starting shortstop, but Joey pulled a hammy and Zane got in there," Shermet said. "And all he's done so far is hit .375.

"He makes a lot of great plays, he made one today, turned a double play, and the bottom half of our order has started to become clutch."

Parmenter and Eddie Rivero teamed up on a beautiful double play to squelch a late-inning threat. 

If the Warriors continue to improve their leather, they will win a lot of baseball games.

"We're getting hits up and down the lineup," Shermet said. "Keith Hale had a huge base hit. Then Zane came in with the capper. In the box I was questioning, 'Do we pinch-hit?' But then I thought, 'No, we're rolling,' and bam, bam, bam, we get hits. 

"We're a good hitting team, and we're out-hitting other teams. Now we're starting to pitch and out-play other teams. 

"If we just stay on this road, with this kind of confidence, we're gonna be fine."