The Sea Lions of PLNU started right-hander Steven Winnick, who ran into trouble early. After a leadoff strikeout of VU catcher Eric Krzysiak, right fielder Brandon Young doubled down the left field line for the first base runner of the game. Tyson Leighton advanced Young to third with a chopper to second, bringing his brother and VU captain Zach Leighton to the dish. The senior laced a Winnick offering over the left field fence, clearing the wall by a few feet to give the "visitors"? on the scoreboard a 2-0 advantage. The next batter, first baseman Jason Dovel, followed suit, hammering a 3-2 pitch over the wall in right for a solo shot.

 

Nursing a 3-0 lead, Vanguard starter Robert Purpura struggled with his command early. After walking the first two batters in the bottom of the first, Purpura gave up a single to Tyler Kuehl to load the bases. After striking out the next Sea Lion, Point Loma got to the righty with a Jeff Fox RBI single, cutting the VU lead to 3-1.

 

The Lions added another run in the third, using a Krzysiak solo bomb to give Vanguard another three-run cushion. After Purpura threw a goose egg in the bottom of the third, VU jumped on the Winnick again in the fourth. Designated hitter Kip Masuda led off with a single, and advanced to second on a Jake Domingos sacrifice bunt. The Blue and Gold then caught a bit of luck, as Sea Lion left fielder Rashad Taylor lost a Billy Hamilton pop fly in the sun, allowing Masuda to score from second. Later in the inning, with two outs and runners on second and third, Tyson Leighton came through for VU, slapping a single to left center to plate both his teammates and give the Lions a 7-1 cushion.

 

PLNU answered in the bottom of the frame, scoring three runs to climb back into the game. The Sea Lions used back-to-back two-out doubles by Alex Cameron and Kuehl to cut into the Vanguard lead, and then added another score on a Jeff Fox second RBI base knock. 

 

The two squads continued to trade runs, as the Lions would take a significant lead and Point Loma would respond. The Pride tacked on another run in the fifth, but Point Loma scored twice in the bottom of the sixth frame off VU reliever James McGeary to close the gap to two runs. Vanguard responded with a run in the seventh, courtesy of an RBI single by Krzysiak that scored Masuda. 

 

Point Loma took over the ballgame in the seventh inning. Nursing a 9-6 lead entering the frame, the Vanguard pitchers came unraveled. McGeary was chased after back-to-back singles, and VU brought in Robert Mendoza. The right-hander did not have his best stuff, and the Sea Lions pounced. After the dust had settled, Point Loma had scored six runs to take a 12-9 lead heading into the eighth. 

 

PLNU added seven more runs in the eighth, four on Rashad Taylor's second home run of the game, a grand slam off Vanguard reliever Bryce Reid. The seven-spot brought the ten-run rule into effect, ending any chance of a VU comeback in the ninth inning.

 

Point Loma outhit Vanguard 21-13 in the game, paced by Taylor's four hits and eight RBI. Mendoza took the loss for the Pride, as the Lion staff combined to walk 11 Sea Lion batters. Masuda led Vanguard with three hits in the loss.

 

Vanguard's loss means the Lions will face NAIA No.3 California Baptist at 12:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Vanguard must knock off the Lancers of CBU to continue play in the GSAC postseason tourney. However, even with a loss to Cal Baptist, the Lions have a chance to make an appearance in the NAIA National tournament as an at-large team.