Costa Mesa, Calif. - After perhaps the poorest outing of the year for the Vanguard baseball program, the Lions bounced back with a terrific performance on Thursday, dropping No. 5 California Baptist 16-3. The win moves VU, ranked eleventh in the country, to within three games of the Lancers for the top spot in the GSAC standings, with six games remaining. The Lions have a golden opportunity to cut into the Lancers' lead even more this weekend, with a double header scheduled for Saturday in Riverside.
Vanguard sent right hander Robert Purpura to the bump for the second game of the four-game set, hoping for a vastly different result than Wednesday's 12-2 loss. Purpura, a junior, had the tall task of silencing the Lancer bats. Though primarily used out of the bullpen this spring, Purpura rose to the challenge and pitched well.
Offensively, Vanguard responded from the poor outing a day before with plenty of run support for Purpura, jumping on Lancer starter Drew Madrigal early and often, and then keeping the proverbial foot on the gas for the remainder of the ballgame. After a leadoff single by Zach Leighton in the first inning, left fielder Brandon Young bounced into a fielder's choice. Young then advanced to second and moved all the way to third on a single by Eric Krzysiak. He scored on a Tyson Leighton single to center.
The score remained 1-0 until the third frame, when the hosts tacked on three more runs. Krzysiak reached second base on a well-hit ball that was charged as a Lancer error. Tyson Leighton came through with an RBI single once more, plating Krzysiak. After Kip Masuda flied out for the second out of the inning, first baseman Jason Dovel slapped a run-scoring double to left. Third baseman Billy Hamilton continued the rally by drilling a single to center that scored Dovel and gave the Lions a 4-0 advantage.
Vanguard added one run in both the fourth and fifth frames, and after CBU scored twice off Purpura to cut the lead to 6-2, the Lions opened the floodgates in the sixth. The Blue and Gold chased Lancer reliever Cory Kiefer out of the game quickly, using three hits and two walks to score five runs and blow the game wide open. Leading 11-2, the Lions added four more runs in the seventh, and then matched California Baptist with one run in the eighth inning, sealing the 16-3 victory.
Purpura was excellent on the hill, going six strong innings against the CBU lineup. In his first start of the spring, Purpura gave up only two runs on six hits, striking out two batters. James McGeary and Peter Birdwell finished the job for the hosts, preserving the "W" for Purpura. Madrigal, who entered the contest with a record of 9-1, took the loss, giving up six runs, though only two were earned.
Vanguard pounded out 17 hits, and took advantage of five errors by the visitors. Tyson Leighton and Billy Hamilton led the way for VUSC with three hits apiece. Hamilton had five RBI, while Leighton and Dovel brought in three runs each.
Head Coach Ralph Grajeda was pleased with his team's effort in the win, especially after Wednesday's humbling experience. "We took the approach to attack the game and then did just that," Grajeda said. "Our guys took yesterday personally and responded with a great overall effort against a quality opponent. It started on the hill with Robert Purpura. He absolutely dominated for most of the game. Offensively our hitters sustained quality at bats through the line-up to wear down their pitching. Beating a quality arm like Madrigal was huge and our approach at the plate attributed to that."
The Vanguard victory improves the Lions' record to 31-11 on the season, including a mark of 21-9 in conference play. The Pride moves within three games of California Baptist, who falls to 24-6 in GSAC play, 35-12 overall. Saturday's double header will have a tremendous impact on deciding the conference regular season championship. First pitch of the twin bill is set for 12:00 p.m. in Riverside.
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