Third-seeded College of Idaho jumped on the scoreboard first, getting to Lion starter Peter Birdwell in the first inning. The Coyotes strung together back-to-back singles with one out, and brought left fielder Kyle Douglas to the plate to face Birdwell. On a 2-2 offering, Douglas bombed a pitch to right center to give COI an early three-run lead. Fourth-seeded Vanguard did not blink, however, and quickly fought back into the contest. Facing Levi Mitchum, the Coyotes' starter, VU got into a solid rhythm offensively. Lion leadoff hitter Eric Krzysiak doubled to start the bottom of the inning, and Brandon Young smashed a Mitchum pitch over the wall to bring the Blue and Gold within one.

Birdwell did not fare much better in the second frame, using three hits and two base-on-balls to put another three-spot on the board and take a 6-2 lead. Again, Vanguard hammered Mitchum in the bottom half of the inning, not letting an early deficit affect the Lion bats. After a single by right fielder Jake Domingos, second baseman Brandon Pesante smoked a home run to left, cutting the COI lead in half. The Lions weren't finished, as Young and VU catcher Kip Masuda each delivered with an RBI to plate two more runs. Vanguard also took advantage of two Coyote errors in the inning, and when the dust had settled, VUSC took a 7-6 lead into the third.

Well into both offensive explosions, each team went to their respective bullpens. The game quieted down in the third frame before the Coyotes tied the contest in the top of the fourth. The tie didn't last long, as Vanguard's Leighton and Domingos went deep in consecutive innings to give the Blue and Gold a 9-7 lead. In the sixth, it was the Coyotes' turn to capitalize on an error by the Lions, slashing the VU lead to just one run.

In the eighth, the Coyotes' bats took a toll on the tired Vanguard arms. After James McGeary, who had pitched admirably for 5.1 innings, gave up two singles to start the frame, the Lions elected to go with Adrian Mendoza out of the pen. College of Idaho's cleanup hitter, Diego Robles, rudely welcomed Mendoza to the ballgame by sending the first pitch he saw over the fence in left, and the Coyotes retook the lead. Five batters later, COI's Gavin Gamboa slapped an RBI single to give the visitors on the scoreboard a 12-9 advantage.

The Lions got one run back in the bottom of the eighth, courtesy of a pinch-hit single by Brett Halstead. However, Jason Dovel grounded out with the bases juiced, and the "?Yotes still held the two-run lead entering the ninth. Mendoza kept the COI bats silent in the top of the inning, giving Vanguard one last chance to salvage a victory and keep the magical 2010 season alive. 

Domingos started the final frame with a single, keeping the Vanguard hopes intact. After Pesante popped out and Bryce Arroyo struck out swinging, Krzysiak strode to the dish and smoked a double to right center, cutting the deficit to one run. With two outs and the game-tying run on second base, Young singled to put runners on the corners for Leighton. The junior center fielder, who has had an excellent 2010 campaign, came through with his third hit of the contest, a single that scored Krzysiak and sent the game into extra innings. 

After a quiet tenth inning, Leighton got another opportunity to be the hero in the bottom of the eleventh. Pesante led off the inning with a walk, and pinch-hitter Mario Romero found lightening in a bottle when his sacrifice bunt attempt led to a Coyotes' error. With both runners on, Krzysiak walked to load the bases, bringing Young back to the plate. The Vanguard right fielder grounded to short, who threw home to nab the would-be game-ending run. With one out and the bases still juiced, Leighton took the first pitch from COI reliever Jacob Coats for a ball. Ahead in the count, Leighton found the pitch he wanted in Coats' next delivery, and smoked a line drive over the right fielder's head, sending the Lion bench and fans into a frenzy and propelling the Blue and Gold into the next round.

"I couldn't be prouder of our guys," commented VU Head Coach Ralph Grajeda.  "That was a complete team win and gut check.  We had some great at bats and never gave up."

The instant classic featured 37 hits overall, with VU holding a slight 19-18 advantage in the category. Domingos and Leighton each recorded four hits for the Lions, while Krzysiak and Young had three hits apiece. Mendoza redeemed himself by earning the win, going four innings and giving up two earned runs. Coats took the loss for College of Idaho, and the "L"? ended the Coyotes' excellent season with a record of 38-16.

The Lions improve to 34-19 with the wild victory, and continue to build on the win total that is the program's highest since 1997.  Vanguard's season continues with the big win, and the Lions will now face another elimination contest Thursday morning against tenth-ranked and second-seeded Madonna University from Michigan. First pitch is set for 10:00 a.m. in Riverside. Vanguard will need to upset Madonna and then knock off No. 3 California Baptist University twice to advance to the NAIA World Series.