Simpson Wins Duel, Takes Series

By Brandon Petersen

The Westcliff baseball team had a rough Saturday at the Great Park, wasting an elite performance from starter Camden Cooper in a 2-0 Game 1 loss, before Simpson captured the series with an 8-1 rubber-match victory. 

With the losses, Westcliff was leap-frogged in the Cal Pac standings by Park, who finished the weekend at 8-9. 

The Warriors (7-8) currently hold the fifth and final position in the Cal Pac postseason standings, with La Sierra lurking on the bubble at 7-9. 

The good news is Westcliff still holds the loss-record advantage over both Park and La Sierra, and ultimately still controls its own destiny with four Cal Pac contests remaining. 

The bad news is La Sierra holds a tiebreaker advantage over the Warriors and their margin-for-error is now razor-thin. 

"(Cooper) has been great for us," Westcliff skipper Dylan Hoffman said Saturday after his starter's two-hit performance. "And once we find a way to get that run scored for him, and play behind him, we're going to be a pretty exceptional team. 

"And it's going to happen. We're going to get it at the right time, right before playoffs, and we're going to make a great push."

Cooper found himself locked in a heated pitcher's duel Saturday. 

While Westcliff's starter tossed six innings of shutout baseball, Simpson countered with Garrett Brogdon, who was downright filthy, sending down 10 Warriors by way of strikes through seven and a third innings of three-hit ball. 

Ben Weller threw the final three for Westcliff, and was game to the task, allowing no earned runs.

But the Warriors had a pair of fielding miscues, and in the top of the eighth gave Simpson the crack in the door it needed to sneak across a pair and claim the win. 

Eddie Rivero, Ian Avalos and Nick Malvini all hit singles, but the Warriors couldn't find the clutch knock against Brogdon, who featured outstanding movement all afternoon. 

"We have to minimize the selfish swings," Hoffman said. "And have a mindset to get the next guy up every single time."

The Warriors and Red Hawks traded first-inning runs in Game 2, but Simpson opened it up in the middle innings, and poured it on in the ninth. 

Sergio Cazares took the loss after a four-run outing that lasted five and a third. 

Rivero tossed three innings, allowing two earned. 

The Warriors might as well consider themselves in the playoffs now, as each of the four remaining Cal Pac games hold playoff implications. 

Embry-Riddle visits Friday and Saturday for three.

Then a rainout make-up date with Providence looms on the 23rd, the final day of the regular season. 

The key to making the postseason will be remaining atop La Sierra in the win column.

The Warriors could find themselves the four-seed if they manage to win all four. 

Crunch time has arrived.