Harvard-Westlake sophomore pitcher Tommy Bridges allows one hit in 6-0 win over Chaminade: 3 takeaways

WEST HILLS, Calif. -- With the playoffs a week away, Harvard-Westlake sophomore Tommy Bridges pitched his best game of the season on Monday afternoon.

Bridges threw 6 and 1/3 innings and struck out seven in a 6-0 Mission League win over Chaminade. He took a no hitter into the seventh inning before giving up a lead off single to Chaminade junior Degan Hensley. The grounder up the middle was the Eagles only hit of the afternoon.

"I'm feeling amazing," Bridges said after the game. "Knowing that I have guys behind me who make every play for me, it's easy to be confident up there."

Below are three takeaways from the Wolverines' win. 

IT'S CLICKING FOR BRIDGES

Bridges referred to the beginning of his season as "a bit rocky" and Harvard-Westlake head coach Jared Halpert said the sophomore "has had his scars and bumps along the way."

But on Monday, he was locked in. 

"This was the best performance he's had all year long," Halpert said. "...For Tommy to hang as long as he did and have that performance was amazing."

Bridges is excelling at just the right time for the defending Division 1 Southern Section champs. The Southern Section will release its playoff baseball pairings next Monday. Whether as a starter or reliever, Bridges looks like he'll be a key contributor to the Wolverines' title defense.

HARVARD-WESTLAKE SCORES SIX RUNS IN SIXTH INNING

Chaminade senior pitcher Aric Berg allowed only one hit through four innings and in the fifth, he got out of a bases loaded jam. 

Berg ran into trouble in the sixth inning though.

He gave up three consecutive singles to Bryce Rainer, Andrew Citron and Jacob Galloway to lead off the inning before Harvard-Westlake scored the first run of the game courtesy of a sacrifice fly from Will Gasparino. One batter later, Alex Shane hit a 2-RBI double. 

The Wolverines scored three more runs in the inning and batted around. 

WOLVERINES TWO WINS AWAY FROM LEAGUE TITLE

Harvard-Westlake is two wins away from winning the Mission League title outright. They're 13-2-1 in the league and Notre Dame is 14-3-1. The Wolverines end the season with two more games against Chaminade on Tuesday and Thursday. 

"We're worried about tomorrow," Halpert said when asked about his team closing in on a league title. "We've got to get tomorrow first."