COSTA MESA, Calif. - The day may have been cloudy and gloomy, but it was the exact opposite for the Lions as Vanguard (1-0) defeated La Sierra (0-1) in a convincing 7-2 victory. This game was a great way for the Lions to kick off their new season in front of their home crowd. Sean Isaac (SR/Redondo Beach, CA) led the Lions pitching six innings and recording seven strikeouts. Vanguard out hit La Sierra to the tune of 9-3 including a 2-4 day by Brock Eissman (JR/San Clemente, CA) featuring five RBI's.
Head Coach Rob Pegg said of the Opening Day win, "Great team win to start the season. Isaac set a good tone for us and the defense/hitting came through as well."
Starting in the first inning, the Blue and Gold had some early game jitters with an error that led to a score for La Sierra early in the game to give them the lead at 1-0. They then followed up with a quick 1-2-3 inning on VU's first offensive possession; however, the Lions quickly countered that rough inning with a brief inning of themselves and gave the crowd a sneak peek into what would be happening in the near future on offense when as Jose Rojas (SR/Anaheim, CA) picked up a walk and stole a base. As we moved on to the 3rd inning, this was when the action really started to pick up.
The Lions started off the inning with another 1-2-3 inning to get back on offense and from that point on the Golden Eagles fell behind considerably. First Dylan Ramie (JR/Ewa Beach, HI) got on base thanks to a Golden Eagles error. Next was Brandon Sandoval (JR/Fallbrook, CA), who hit a single right up the middle of the field to get on base as well. Then there was 1Justin Vega (JR/Chatsworth, CA), who executed a great bunt to make it a bases loaded situation for the Blue and Gold. By this point, the crowd was getting into the game and cheers were becoming louder and louder.
"Great turnout with fans as well that's always a great motivator for the team to have the support behind us, it makes it a great environment for us to play in.," Isaac said after the game.
Finally, Eissman drilled double and Trai Patrick (JR/Everett, WA) with a RBI single to give the Lions a lead 3-1 over La Sierra going into the fourth inning. From that point on, the Lions continued to show their talent level over La Sierra with a home run by Eissman that also brought Vega in to score in the bottom of the 5th inning.
Isaac went on to say, "Opening day always brings a lot emotions for us as players, being a spring sport we've been waiting for this for awhile. Felt great to get back out there and start our journey together. The team brought good energy, the defense made plays behind the pitchers and the offense provided run support which was huge for us."
Up next for the Lions is their first road game of the season as they will be preparing to play against Marymount California University (0-0) on Jan. 29th at 2:30 pm, before returning home for a double-header which will be apart of the 2016 Homecoming festivities.
-GOLD PRIDE-
