SANTA CLARITA, Calif. – No. 4 seed Vanguard fell 1-0 to fifth-seeded University of British Columbia on Monday morning in the first game of the NAIA National Championship Opening Round's Santa Clarita Bracket after being deadlocked at 0-0 with the Thunderbirds going into the eighth inning. The Lions' Golden Glove outfielder, Thomas Mobley (SR/Anaheim, CA), paced VU offensively with a team-best two hits on the day.
Vanguard's senior starter Clayton Voechting (SR/Temecula, CA) allowed just one hit through seven phenomenal innings of work, before British Columbia's Jerod Bartnik hit a lead-off homerun in the eighth frame to give his team a 1-0 lead.
Jordan Moak (JR/Sulphur, LA) took over for Voechting in the ninth and held the T-Birds hitless in a three-up, three-down half inning to bring Vanguard back to the plate for one last try.
With one out on the board, Mobley came up to bat and knocked a ball up the middle to give the Lions a chance. A batter later, McKnight drew a walk to push Mobley to second, and John Collins (SR/Fallbrook, CA) was hit to put both McKnight and Mobley in prime scoring position with two outs on the board.
Unfortunately for Vanguard, however, UBC's closer Matt Thornton got his job done, posting the Thunderbird's third strikeout of the frame to secure the victory for his team.
The Pride doubled its opponent's hit total on the day, registering six knocks compared to the Thunderbird's three.
Voechting struck out six in the effort and surrendered only three hits in eight complete innings.
Mobley went two-for-three for The Pride, while four of his teammates, Brandon Sandoval (FR/Fallbrook, CA), John Collins, Taylor McKnight (JR/Mission Viejo, CA) and Ian Sakry (SR/Long Beach, CA), managed a hit apiece in the loss.
Vanguard resumes play on Tuesday morning at 9:00am versus a familiar foe in The Master's College. The Mustangs, the bracket's host team, are the No. 2 seed.
-GOLDPRIDE-
