COSTA MESA, Calif. – The Master's College swept the three-game Golden State Athletic Conference series with its 7-0 and 3-1 victories over the Lions on Saturday at the VU Baseball Field.
Following the losses, Vanguard drops to 5-6 on the season and 2-6 in conference play. The Mustangs improve to 12-5 overall and 8-4 in GSAC with the sweep.
GAME ONE
The Mustang's Steve Karkenny (Chatsworth, Calif.) went yard on the second pitch of the game off of Lions' starter Richard Perry (Fontana, Calif.) to give TMC an early 1-0 edge.
In the bottom of the first, senior Jason Ochart (Glendale, Calif.) managed a lead-off single and a stolen base but was stranded at third as the inning closed.
The Master's struck again in the second, compiling another run off of a pair of hits.
Karkenny put another ball over the left field fence in the fifth and the Mustangs tacked on four more in the sixth to grab a 7-0 advantage.
Perry tossed five innings for Vanguard and took the loss. He gave up seven hits and allowed five runs.
Junior James Scott (Canyon Country, Calif.) threw a two-hitter for The Master's and picked up the win.
GAME TWO
TMC's Karkenny continued his impressive day in the nightcap, leading off the game with a double and advancing to third on a Lions' fielding error.
Spencer Downs (Kelso, Wash.) brought Karkenny around with a base knock a batter later and The Master's, once again, found itself in possession of an early lead. The Mustangs tallied two more hits in the inning and were up by three runs heading into the second.
With one out in the second inning, VU's Nikko Tountas (Lincolnwood, Ill.) singled up the middle. Junior Greg Younger (Bakersfield, Calif.) came in to pinch run and promptly stole second for the Lions. With Younger in scoring position, John Schwer (Burbank, Calif.) singled to left to give Vanguard its lone run of the day.
Sophomore Taylor McKnight (Mission Viejo, Calif.) led the Lions' game two effort, going 2-for-3 at the plate. Five other Lions, Francisco Torres (Cathedral City, Calif.), N. Tountas, Ellis Whitman (Seattle, Wash.), Schwer and Thomas Mobley (Anaheim, Calif.), also recorded hits in the contest.
Senior Kamakani Usui (Honolulu, Hawaii) suffered the loss for the Blue and Gold. He drops to 0-2 on the year.
University of British Columbia comes to VU on Tuesday, February 19th for a 2:00pm nine inning game.
-GOLDPRIDE-
