David Kirakos and
Brandon Young both were 4-6 in the double-header matchup, with each game being a full nine innings.
Scott Simmons picked up his fifth victory of the season, pitching a shut out against the Sea Lions in his time on the mound during the second contest.
Game One: Vanguard 3, Point Loma Nazarene 2
Kiriakos, who was 3-3 in the victory, paced the Lions throughout the contest. Five other members of the club each had a hit.
Trey Hunt, going 3-4 with a scored run in the first half of the double header, highlighted Point Loma offensively.
The Sea Lions scored the first run of the contest in the bottom of the second inning to take a 1-0 lead. Hunt scored off a single by Tyler Nordgren after he doubled to center field and stole third base.
The Blue and Gold tied the game the next inning off a Kiriakos single down the right field line scoring Henry Yates. Yates had reached base on a double to left field.
Vanguard added to its lead in the fourth and fifth innings to take a 3-1 lead. The first score came on a home run to center field by
Bryce Arroyo.
Alec Rosales drove in the final run of the game for the Lions on a sacrifice fly.
J.T. Truhett scored after safely reaching base on a single to center field.
Point Loma Nazarene threatened a come back, narrowing the margin to 3-2 in the bottom of the sixth inning. Ricky Gingras homered to right center field, but it ended up being the final run of the game for both teams.
Ruben Orosco (2-2) started and pitched seven innings for the Pride allowing only two runs on six hits, striking out five batters on the day. Closer
Kevin Ponzo received his fourth save of the year, as he shut out the Sea Lions for the final two innings giving up only one hit.
Tyler Garkow (3-5) started on the mound for PLNU, giving up seven hits and three earned runs in his six innings of work. Reliever Garrett Levsen allowed one hit in two innings, and Garrett Gooding wrapped up the game for the Sea Lions.
Game Two: Vanguard 7, Point Loma Nazarene 4
The nightcap featured a pair of Lions each with two hits and an RBI.
Brandon Young was 2-4, including two runs scored, and
Nikko Tountas was 2-3. Four other players for Vanguard recorded a base hit.
Eddie Roberts went 2-4 at the plate to lead the Sea Lions. Six other members of the team had one hit each.
The offense for the Blue and Gold stayed hot to begin the second game, as they put up three quick runs in the top of the first inning.
Michael Castello knocked a three-RBI double, after two Lions were walked and one reached on an error. All the runs came home with two outs punched in the frame.
Vanguard pushed its lead to 4-0 in the third inning with Arroyo scoring on Tountas' double down the left field line.
The Lions added two more scores in the top of the sixth inning to push their lead to 6-0.
Kyle Willett crossed the plate first on a ground out by Truhett.
Bret Collins scored the second run off a single up the middle by Yates.
Young scored the final run of the game for the Lions as he doubled down the left line before coming home on Arroyo's single up the middle.
In the seventh inning, Point Loma reached the scoreboard cutting the lead to 7-2. Hernandez reached on a fielder's choice and later scored on a left field single by Clinton Harwick. The second run resulted from a sacrifice fly from Gingras, scoring Lucas DiCiccio.
The final two tallies for the Sea Lions came in the bottom of the eighth frame. Hunt reached on an error and scored on a throwing error by PLNU. A fly ball from Daniel Hernandez pushed Nordgren home from third base.
Scott Simmons (5-2) blanked PLNU for six innings allowing only five hits. Reliever
Tucker Woods succumbed two runs off two hits in the seventh inning.
Terry Unruh rounded out the arms on the mount for the Pride, allowing one hit and two runs in the final two frames.
Point Loma Nazarene starter Jack Archie (2-2) received the losing decision allowing five hits, five runs, and four walks in his five innings on the hill. Chad Etchison allowed one hit and one run in the sixth inning while Dani Schlarmann gave up two hits and one run in his two innings of action.
With the victories in the double header, Vanguard pushes its record to (14-11, 5-9) while the losses drop Point Loma Nazarene to 13-20 overall, 6-14 in GSAC play.
Vanguard will take its five game winning streak on the road as the Lions travel to Azusa Pacific on March 29, for a game under the lights starting at 5:00 p.m. on the Cougar Baseball Field.
