Posted: Mar 27, 2023
By Francisco Claudio
Westcliff's softball had a busy weekend as they hosted their four-game series against the Simpson University Red Hawks.
The Warriors would have loved to have gotten the sweep, but nonetheless they will be satisfied with winning 3-1.
After a postponement due to weather conditions, the series would start on Saturday instead of the original Friday start.
In the first game on Saturday the Warriors looked to quickly take the lead in the first inning.
They were able to get on the scoreboard after a throwing error by the pitcher that allowed Kassandra Ramos to come home.
Then Olivia Pino singled down the right field which allowed Haley Garcia to score.
The Warriors continued to do damage as they scored in the second inning as well with the help from Garcia who singled to left center, bringing in Alexyia Reyes.
Westcliff scored again in the fourth and Simpson got only one run in the sixth inning, for a final score of game one, 4-1.
Nina Hendriks had a strong performance from the mound pitching the whole game and only allowing four hits which resulted in one scored run.
Hendriks was hitting her target as she accumulated 11 strikeouts.
Hendriks would continue her pitching into the second game of the doubleheader on Saturday as she started yet again.
Westcliff made their move in the bottom of the third after Diamond Lewis hit to center field and allowed Garcia and Ramos to score.
The Warriors scored another two runs in the fifth inning and one in the sixth.
The Red Hawks scored one run in the fifth and two runs in the sixth.
Hendriks got the win and she only needed to pitch five innings and added another six strikeouts to her earlier count for the day.
Warriors took the second game on Saturday 5-3.
Head Coach Vanessa Kellems shared her thoughts from the first doubleheader: "Nina picks a heck of a game day 1. And even though we had some injuries and some of our starters were not playing, our team did a great job coming together, making some fabulous plays and working strong together."
Then we turned the page to Sunday for the second doubleheader as Emily Rosas would start on the mound for the Warriors.
Again the Warriors were the first to hit as they were into it from the start.
Westcliff scored six runs in the first and one more in the bottom of the third.
They cruised for most of the game as the Red Hawks only got on the board until the last inning.
Westcliff had 13 hits to Simpson's five, with a final score, 7-2 Warriors.
The second game on Sunday was a bit odd and not like any of the other three in the series.
The Warriors got on the board in the fourth and sixth inning by wild pitches from the pitcher on both occasions.
Rosas was the starting pitcher but didn't fare too well as she allowed four runs on only five hits.
The dreams of the sweep vanished as the Warriors lost the final game of the series, 4-2.
"As a team, we need to keep focusing on some little things, and keep working on our mental games so that we can finish strong in a series of potential sweeps," said Kellems.
Westcliff seems to have a firm grasp of the third spot in the Cal Pac conference with a record of (9-5).
But it doesn't mean that they can let go of the gas as Saint Katherine is right behind them battling for that spot.
And up next the Warriors will travel to Saint Katherine for a four-game series.
The series will start on Friday, March 31 and carry over to April 1st.
