Leo Tochterman is ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Westwood HIgh School for AZPreps365.com.

Westwood moved to 2-0 on the season with a 6-2 victory over visiting Gila Ridge on Thursday afternoon in Mesa. 

The Warriors were led by starting pitcher junior Reid Copeland, who threw five innings and struck out four Hawks on route to his first career varsity victory.

Copeland didn’t showcase a ton of velocity on Thursday afternoon, but he was able to consistently hit his spots and pitch to contact. Copeland’s strong outing was a welcome sight for a Westwood team in need of pitching depth.

After winning their first game in the Adam Donnefield Classic 10-7 against Arcadia, Warriors manager J.R. Langston was happy but had some very real qualms about the viability of his pitching staff.

“I was really concerned after last night about our pitching, like I don’t know how we are going to piece this together,” Langston said. “It just gives me hope that Reed was able to come out and do what he did because it's something we can count on.”

Langston noted how impressed he was with the overall poise of the right-hander.

“I was proud of his effort. It seemed like he kept them off balance a little bit,” Langston said. “I think he just keeps composed. He’s a thinker and he did a good job.”

Despite not having any varsity experience, Copeland quickly adjusted to the increase in talent level.

“I felt pretty confident, I just felt like I had good control over my fastball when I got onto the mound,” Copeland said. “I didn’t really know what to expect from this team, but after the first batter it got the nerves out of my system.”

Offensively, the Warriors used a huge third inning to increase their lead to 6-0 as the team strung together four consecutive run-scoring hits, punctuated by an RBI double by senior shortstop Crew Parke. 

The rest of the game was mainly smooth sailing for Westwood, aside from a rocky sixth inning when junior reliever Rex Richardson allowed two runs before getting out of a bases-loaded jam to keep the Warriors ahead.

Richardson rebounded from the sixth inning to retire the side in the the seventh, helping put a stamp on Westwood’s victory. Richardson was not fazed by the minor rough patch.

“There were a couple errors and stuff that happened,” Richardson said. “I just trusted in my teammates that they would make plays, and they did that.” 

Following the game, Richardson was in good spirits, citing some lofty aspirations for the Warriors this season.

“I think that we’ve got a good chance to make state this year,” Richardson said. "We’ll go deep in the playoffs and see what happens.”

The Warriors will resume tournament play on Friday afternoon at Westwood as they will look to move to 3-0 against the visiting Perry Pumas at 3:45 p.m.