Costa Mesa, Calif. - Rainy weather on Saturday forced the postponement of the seven-inning nightcap of a GSAC baseball double header at The Master's College in Santa Clarita. Winning the two mid-week encounters against the Mustangs but losing game one on Saturday, the Lions returned to TMC today to complete the season series. The makeup trip was successful as the Lions rapped 12 hits en route to a 10-9 victory in the seven inning game, winning the season series 3-1 over the Mustangs.
Vanguard jumped on the board quickly on the artificial turf in Santa Clarita. Team captain Zach Leighton doubled to lead off the game and scored on a single by Eric Krzysiak. Kip Masuda homered to pad the lead to 3-0 against TMC starter Zach Anderson.
The Mustangs got one run back in the bottom of the first, but Vanguard picked up solo runs in the second and third innings as Leighton collected an RBI and Jason Dovel delivered a solo home run.
Vanguard's starting pitcher James McGeary allowed a run in the first and third innings, but hit major trouble in the bottom of the fourth. A three-run home run from Ben Ives gave the hosts a 6-5 lead, but the Mustangs weren't done yet. A double by Pete Goeman prompted a pitching change from the Lions, who brought in senior Peter Birdwell. TMC posted one more run before Birdwell could get a double play to end the inning.
The Master's remained in charge until the Lions exploded for five runs in the top of the sixth inning off three Mustang pitchers. Krzysiak singled home the first VU run, followed by a two-run triple by Tyson Leighton and an RBI single by Masuda. The Lions scored what eventually became the winning run on a single by Keegan Freeman, taking a 10-7 lead.
The Mustangs (10-8, 4-4) responded with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the sixth when Joe Zeller ripped a two-run dinger off Birdwell. It would not be enough though. Birdwell recorded the final out of the sixth and Robert Purpura pitched a perfect seventh inning for his fourth save of the year.
Krzysiak, Masuda, and Dovel combined for six of Vanguard's hits and RBIs to lead the VU offense to double digits in runs for the eighth time this season. Tied for first in the GSAC at 7-1, the Lions (16-2 overall) will continue the GSAC season with two double headers with San Diego Christian this week. Reversed from the original schedule, the Lions will host the Hawks on Thursday and travel to SDCC on Saturday, both days beginning at 11:00 a.m. Go Lions!
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