COSTA MESA, Calif. — The Lions were in good spirits after their last series, but the fun turned serious as the 20th ranked Vanguard Lions (4-2) took on the Biola Eagles (4-0). Despite their best efforts, the Lions were unable to beat Biola in the series opener. The final score was 9-3.

Vanguard had trouble at the start with Biola gaining two runs in the first inning and the Lions couldn't seem to find a rhythm. By the end of the fourth inning, Biola had an eight run lead that would hold until the bottom of the sixth. The crowd got their hopes us with a two-run homer by Brock Eissman (SR/San Clemente, CA), his second of the season, but the excitement wained as the game continued. The Lions fought until the end. In the bottom of the ninth, Michael Fuchs (JR/Irvine, CA) hit a triple to right field that drove in Trai Patrick (SR/Everett, WA), but that was the final run that would score.

Tyler Skinner (JR/Dos Palos, CA) (0-1) started off the game on the mound, and despite four strikeouts in four innings, Skinner couldn't seem to shake the Biola hitters. Four other pitchers would take the mound including an impressive outing by Akoni Arriaga (SR/Wailuku, HI) to end the game, but none of the pitchers were able to keep Biola's bats at bay.

Patrick led with hits today, going 3-4, while Brandon Sandoval (SR/Fallbrook, CA) followed close behind going 2-3. In the field, a couple changes were made, including shifting Fuchs over to third base and Josh Weeks (FR/Murrieta, CA) to second base, his first start of the season. Both Fuchs and Weeks made tremendous attempts to keep the ball in the infield. The Lions forced Biola to leave ten runners on base.

Next Game: Saturday, February 4th against Biola at 11:00 a.m. (Double Header)

-GOLD PRIDE-