COSTA MESA, Calif. – Vanguard (13-17) looked renewed on Wednesday afternoon as it defeated Menlo College (15-14) 8-1 on the VU Baseball Field. The Pride offense had five players combine for 14 hits, while the Lions' pitching staff held the Oaks to just four knocks in the nine inning affair.
Junior Clayton Voechting (Temecula, Calif.) (3-1) earned the win on the mound, striking out five and allowing four hits in seven innings of work.
The Blue and Gold took a 2-0 lead in the first and did not look back, posting six runs over the course of the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to garner the big win.
Jason Ochart (Glendale, Calif.), the Lions' senior third baseman, had no trouble with the Oaks' hurlers, going 4-for-5 on the day. He registered a pair of RBIs, runs scored and stolen bases in the victory.
Ochart was not alone in his success, as four of his teammates also tallied multi-hits in the slate. Freshman Bret Collins (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) and junior Greg Younger (Bakersfield, Calif.) went 3-for-5 and 3-for-4, respectively, for VU. Collins hit a triple in the contest and notched a team-leading three runs-batted-in.
Rounding out the order with a pair of knocks each were seniors Nikko Tountas (Lincolnwood, Ill.) and Ellis Whitman (Seattle, Wash.). Tountas' 2-for-3 day featured an RBI, a run scored and a stolen base while Whitman garnered two RBIs and a run scored in his 2-for-5 showing.
Sophomore Taylor McKnight (Mission Viejo, Calif.) was patient at the plate for the Lions and managed to draw a notable four walks in the game.
Vanguard will host Arizona Christian on March 22nd and 23rd for a three-game Golden State Athletic Conference series. First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 3:00pm.
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