While rain fell all afternoon on the Vanguard field in Costa Mesa, the Lions enjoyed sunny and 70 degree weather for their twinbill on ACU's new field. It was a rough start for VU's senior southpaw Gabriel Garcia, who was making his second start of the season. Struggling from the start, Garcia only lasted 1.2 innings and was charged with ACU's first eight runs, including five in the first inning.
Nik Klungreseter relieved Garcia and hurled 5.1 innings in relief for the Lions, holding the Firestorm to three runs on three hits during that span. Terry Unruh completed the game on the mound for the Lions, pitching to four batters in the bottom of the eighth inning and allowing one run.
Offensively, the Lions tallied 11 hits, including two from Brandon Young, Bryce Arroyo, Michael Castello, and Adam Salazar, but they could not keep up with the hosts who were also aided by four Lion errors on defense and six walks from VU pitchers. The Lions put together a two-run rally in the ninth to bring the score to 12-6, losing for only the second time this season.
Vanguard came out roaring in game two as the Lions regrouped and the offense tried to set a new tone at Firestorm Field. VU used RBI singles by Alec Rosales, Arroyo, Castello, and an ACU error to plate the first four runs of the game in the top of the first inning.
However, ACU stormed back with a five-spot in the home half of the frame. Senior Tucker Woods went to the hill to start game two for the Lions and was soon facing a bases loaded with one out situation. ACU capitalized on some wildness from Woods and transformed three hits, three walks, and three stolen bases into a 5-4 lead after a full inning of play.
Each team added a run in the second inning, and ACU extended the lead to 7-5 with one in the bottom of the third, the final inning on the mound for Woods. Castello drove home Rosales with a sacrifice fly in the top of the fifth to shave VU's deficit to a run, only to have the Firestorm drop two more runs on the board in the bottom of the fifth off Unruh, who relieved Garcia in the fourth.
Trailing 9-6 in the top of the seventh, the last scheduled inning, the Lions exploded for four more runs to reclaim the lead. All of VU's runs came with two outs and the comeback included run-scoring hits from Salazar, Nikko Tountas, and Ethan Harper. Vanguard's 4-run seventh gave the Lions a 10-9 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh. Unfortunately, Lion reliever Kevin Ponzo also struggled with control and the hosts posted the game-tying run on one hit, one error, two walks, and a couple of wild pitches. However, the Vanguard defense stepped up with a crucial double play that prevented the Firestorm from scoring what would have been the game-winning run.
Heading into the eighth inning, the Lions used a one-out double by Rosales to get things going. Advancing to third on a grounder, Rosales scored easily on a big double to right field by Castello.
Ponzo returned to the mound for the bottom of the eighth and immediately put the first two runners on base. However, Ponzo let his defense roll up another huge double play and he struck out the final batter for the game-two win, his first of the season.
On the day, Castello and Rosales tallied four hits each, with Castello also topping the Lions with four RBI and scoring two runs. Rosales scored four and drove in two runs, while Salazar also collected four RBI on three hits. Young and Arroyo chipped in three hits each to the Lion attack which registered eight doubles among a total of 24 hits on the day.
The Lions return from ACU tonight and will have a nine-day break before putting the game uniforms on again. VU's next action is on February 24th when the Lions host CSU San Marcos for a 2:00 p.m. start.
