Westmont’s Hofstadler named GSAC Player of the Week

By RON SMITH WESTMONT SPORTS WRITER

Westmont College athlete Shane

Hofstadler of Vista has been named the Baseball Player of the Week by the Golden State Athletic Conference after his performance in a three-game sweep of Vanguard last weekend.

The sophomore transfer from San Diego Mesa went five for 10 at the plate with two doubles and a home run. He also drove in seven runs.

“He has had big at bats all year long,” asserted Westmont’s head coach Tyler LaTorre. “I don’t think his numbers are what he wants them to be or reflective of his talent, but he had two big at bats that came at important moments. Good players have the ability to lock in when the time is necessary. Our goal is to get him to lock in every time.”

In Friday’s game, the righthanded catcher delivered the walkoff double, ending the game in the bottom of the 12th inning.

Daniel Patterson singled to lead off the inning, then advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Parker Zarbaugh. That’s when Hofstadler strolled to the plate and sent the ball to the warning track in right center field, driving in the winning run and giving Westmont a 8-7 victory.

“With the way the schedule is, playing on Fridays and Saturdays, you have to have a couple of catchers,” noted LaTorre. “He catches the bulk of the three-game weekends. The pitchers trust him and is someone our pitchers look to for confidence. He threw out a couple of guys this weekend, which is icing on the cake. He thinks the game well — holding runners or back picking, finding ways to get guys out of an inning, and making the right play.”

After catching 12 innings on March 17, Hofstadler did not start the first game on March 18. However, that did not keep him from making a dramatic contribution to the Warriors’ second win. Westmont was down six to three in the bottom of the seventh with the bases loaded and two away when LaTorre called upon Hofstadler to pinch hit. His towering fly ball to right field just cleared the fence for a grand slam, giving Westmont a 7-6 lead at the time.

The Warriors went on to win the game 9-6.

“He had the game winning hit

Carpinteria track defeats Malibu

Carpinteria boys and girls track teams defeated Malibu with the girls, beating them 83 to 53 and the boys 70-60. For the girls, Emily Ehlers won the 100m and 200m and Lela Roberts won the 100 hurdles and 300 hurdles. The boy’s Ivan Vargas won the long jump, Rooke Juarez won the triple jump, and Israel Samaguey won the discus. Girls are 3-0 in league play and the boys are 2-1.

The Warriors play Cate and Foothill Tech next on Wednesday.

Dos Pueblos boys volleyball loses to San Marcos

The Dos Pueblos boys volleyball lost to San Marcos 1-3 in a league match. The scores of the sets were 19-25, 14-25, 25-19, and 14-25. Nick Schultz-Clifford had three kills and one block in the match. Grant Hughes also had an impressive stat line, with two kills, one block, six digs, and 22 assists. Matthew Wilcox was helpful offensively with eight kills.

The Chargers play Ventura next on March 28.

San Marcos boys golf plays against Ventura and Pacifica

Due to recent rained-out games, the Royals split up their boys golf squad to play multiple matches to make up for the canceled games.

The first team played against Ventura at the Santa Barbara Golf Club that had a par of 70. Shams Jahangir-Arshad was a medalist with an under one score. Leo Metzger had over five, and Jeffrey Forster had over six. The Royals won with a final score of 382-502.

The second team played a ninehole match against Pacifica at River Ridge course. This course had a par of 35. Brody Ricci was a medalist with a score of over six.

Himmat Singh had over eight and Holdt Gore had over nine. The Royals also won this match 217276.

San Marcos track splits against Rio Mesa and Ventura

The Royals boys and girls track team played Rio Mesa and Ventura in an Oxnard meet. The Royals beat Rio Mesa but lost to Ventura.

On the boys side, Ethan Ball won both the 110 hurdles and 300 hurdles 15.87 and 42.82. Evan Perez won the 100m with a time of 11.21 and second in the 200m with a time of 23.29.

The girls also had impressive scores for the meet. Kate Edgar won the long jump and triple jump and second in the 100 hurdles. Clara Tracewell won both the shot put and the discus. Makenzie Fauver won the 100 hurdles, 300 hurdles, second in the long jump and third in the high jump. “It was a long day down in Oxnard, but our athletes competed and represented the Royals well,” concluded Head Coach Marilyn Hantgin.

— Compiled by Annika Bahnsen in the 12th and came back the next day and pinch hit and got a good pitch to hit,” observed LaTorre.

“He didn’t try to do too much with it. That was the key for him this weekend. It is also the key for us moving forward — to be who we are and not try to do too much.”

Back behind the plate for game three, Hofstadler continued to impress with his bat, going two for three with an RBI in a seveninning game. Westmont won the game 5-3.

“After having Simon Reid behind the plate the last three years, Shane has stepped in there and filled that role,” said LaTorre. “He has done it well and hasn’t been intimidated by feeling like there are big shoes to fill. He has just been himself.” Westmont, which sits in first place in GSAC standings with a two and one-half game lead over Hope International, will play four nonconference games this weekend at Russ Carr Field. On Friday, the Warriors will host the flames in a doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m. Then on Saturday, the two teams will play another doubleheader with first pitch scheduled for noon. Ron Smith is the sports information director at Westmont College. email: sports@newspress.com