Costa Mesa, CA---The Vanguard Lions doubled up La Sierra University on Wednesday afternoon, earning much-needed victories with scores of 9-8 in the first game and 3-1 in the nightcap.
The respective offenses were at full force in the first game for both teams, with Vanguard holding off a late charge by La Sierra in the ninth inning to seal the victory.
Vanguard and La Sierra each put up three runs in the first inning. LSU recorded two doubles that helped their cause, while VU scored one run off a home run by Tyson Leighton and two others off sacrifice flies from Bryson Rahier and Jerry Pena.
The Lions took the lead in the bottom of the second inning, on an RBI single by Sean Wilson, scoring Leighton, who had tripled earlier in the frame. The Blue and Gold added another tally to the scoreboard when Rahier brought home his second RBI of the day on another sacrifice fly, scoring teammate Jason Dovel. La Sierra narrowed the gap in the top of the sixth inning, when Toshiteru Fujisaku slapped an RBI single to left field, cutting the lead in half.
The Pride responded in the bottom of the seventh inning, on a home run from Jeremiah Mejia to increase the lead to 6-4. Then, in the bottom of the eighth inning, Vanguard put up three more runs, which proved to be the game-winning scores. Brandon Pesante stroked an RBI single to left, and Leighton continued his terrific day with his second homer, this one a two-run bomb to right field.
La Sierra dug deep to mount a late charge, scoring four runs in the top of the ninth inning. Yet it was not enough to overcome the hosts, who escaped with a 9-8 victory in game one.
Vanguard outhit the Golden Eagles 12-11 in the contest, though LSU stranded 11 runners on the diamond, a stat that VU clearly appreciated. Leighton finished 3-5 with two homers and three RBI. Dovel went 2-4, while Rahier finished 1-2 with two runs batted in. Tucker Woods (2-0) earned the win for the Blue and Gold, and Mike Leal snagged the save by getting the final out with the tying run on third base.
La Sierra pitcher Kenneth Curiel (4-9) pitched the complete game but was tagged with the loss.
The nightcap was far less dramatic, as both pitching staffs and defenses settled down. The Pride got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the second inning, off an RBI single from Mario Romero. The Lions added another score in the bottom of the fourth inning, when Pesante was credited with a sacrifice fly. Rahier garnered his third sacrifice fly on the day for the Lions' final run, scoring Dovel to give VUSC a 3-0 lead.
The lone score for La Sierra occurred in the top of the seventh inning, when an RBI single from Jonathan Kennedy scored David Fernandez. Gabe Garcia earned his seventh win of the season for his efforts in game two, while teammate Robert Purpura recorded his third save of the spring.
La Sierra falls to 12-20 with the pair of losses, including an 0-3 mark against Vanguard this season.
The Lions will gladly take the two victories, which gives VU a three-game winning streak as the Lions take off for Easter break, and improve VU's record this spring to 20-24. The Blue and Gold sport a 14-10 record at home, and will look to better that mark when they host Concordia for two GSAC tilts on April 27 and 28. First pitch for both days is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
