SAN MARCOS, Calif. – Vanguard suffered its first non-conference baseball losses of the year on Friday afternoon at the paws of the Cal State San Marcos Cougars (17-2).
The Lions (12-13) were shutout in the opener 3-0 and dropped the nightcap 6-2.
Vanguard's offense got a taste of CSUSM's ace James Dykstra (6-0) in game one. Dykstra threw eight innings, struck out 10, walked none and allowed three hits in his winning effort.
Juniors Thomas Mobley (Anaheim, Calif.), Ian Sakry (Long Beach, Calif.) and John Collins (Fallbrook, Calif.) each added a knock to their season total in the contest.
Kamakani Usui (Honolulu, Hawaii) tossed a complete game and sustained the loss to drop to 1-4 in his senior campaign.
Paced by senior Jordan Mould's (Stockton, Calif.) three knocks, the Blue and Gold fared better in the day's second competition.
Fourth-year Scott Simmons (Murrieta, Calif.) (5-2) got the start for VU and went the distance, giving up eight hits in six innings of work. Just two of the six runs that scored in Simmon's stint were earned, however, as the Pride fielding staff recorded four errors in the slate.
Seniors Jason Ochart (Glendale, Calif.) and Bryce Arroyo (Brea, Calif.) tallied VU's remaining hits, going 2-for-4 and 1-for-3, respectively.
Mould and senior Ellis Whitman (Seattle, Wash.) picked up an RBI apiece in the loss.
The Lions have an opportunity for redemption on Saturday when the Cougars travel to the VU Baseball Field for another duel. First pitch is scheduled for 11:00am.
-GOLDPRIDE-
