ATHERTON, Calif. – The Menlo Oaks handed Vanguard a pair of close losses on Tuesday afternoon at Cartan field, edging the Lions 11-10 in an extra-innings opener and 8-6 in the nightcap.
The Pride jumped out to a significant early lead, scoring all ten of its runs by the sixth frame to hold a four-run advantage going into the seventh.
Vanguard posted at least one run in each of the first six frames. Its most production came in the fourth, where the Lions recorded three off of a pair of knocks from Brandon Sandoval (FR/Fallbrook, CA) and Bret Collins (JR/Manhattan Beach, CA).
In the seventh, however, MC rallied with three runs of its own cut the margin to 10-9, and the momentum carried into the eighth where the home squad brought the game to even at 10-all.
Both teams were held scoreless in the ninth to force extras, where Nick Rodda (SR/Santa Rosa, CA) came up with a lead-off double in the tenth for the Blue and Gold. Sandoval successfully moved his teammate to third on a well-placed sacrifice bunt, but the Oaks intentionally walked B. Collins to set up the double-play.
Unfortunately for VU, the ploy worked, as Thomas Mobley (SR/Anaheim, CA) grounded in to a 6-4-3 out to end the inning for the Lions.
The tenth went better for Menlo, which used two hits to score the game-winning run off of VU's Clayton Voechting (SR/Temecula, CA).
Voetching moves to 3-3 overall with the loss.
B. Collins and John Collins (SR/Fallbrook, CA) both hit homeruns in the affair. B. Collins knocked a solo four-bagger over the fence in the third, while J. Collins managed a two-run homer in the fifth.
Menlo's Daniel Comstock hit for the cycle in game one, while compiling four of his team's RBIs.
Game two saw Menlo up 6-1 after two frames. The Lions managed two runs in the third and two runs in the fourth, however, to come within a score of the tie.
Sandoval and Mobley hit a double and a single, respectively, in the third to register The Pride's scores, while Ian Sakry (SR/Long Beach, CA) notched a double in the fourth which Taylor McKnight (JR/Mission Viejo, CA) followed with a homerun to bring the score to 6-5.
The Oaks responded with two additional runs over the course of the fifth and sixth, and though VU tallied another via a Rodda triple, the Lions fell 8-6.
Mobley picked up a pair of stolen bases in the contest for the Blue and Gold.
Vanguard travels to Arizona Christian for a three-game Golden State Athletic Conference series with the Firestorm.
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