COSTA MESA, Calif. — After falling to Westmont College in yesterday's contest, Vanguard University looked to overcome the Golden State Athletic Conference rival in doubleheader action. Vanguard, however, found themselves outhit and outrun by the Warriors, and fell victim to the series sweep. With the loss, the Lions drop to 18-19-1 on the season and 14-10 in GSAC play, while Westmont improves to 20-11 overall and 13-9 in conference. Taylor Wilson (FR/Keller, TX) said although the day didn't go the way the Pride had hoped, they fought hard. "We fought hard, but we have to work on keeping that fight throughout the whole game. When we do, we'll end on a positive note." Vanguard will hit the road next week for another GSAC series hosted by Menlo College. Taylor said the result of this weekend's series revealed next week's goals. "When we get up, we want to stay up. We want to keep going, not let the other team make a comeback and finish out strong."
Game 1: Westmont 10, Vanguard 5
Vanguard jumped onto an early lead at the hands of Michael Fuchs (SR/Irvine, CA) who nailed a RBI single to cause Tanner Perry (SR/El Cajon, CA) to score. Perry lead off the first with a walk and Elias-Calles logged the first hit of the day on a single to right field. Westmont matched the run in the fourth inning, and Vanguard pushed ahead in the fifth. A fielding error on the Warriors put Sam Neufeld (JR/Indio, CA) on first before Perry singled to left field. A bunt from Elias-Calles combined with another error on Westmont advanced Neufeld, who scored on the throw. Perry got the last word in for the Pride on a ground out from Chris Rodriguez (JR/Tustin, CA) to put a 3-1 gap between themselves and the Warriors. The Warriors fired back in the top of the eighth frame with five runs and took hold of the lead and looked to close the contest out with a win with three insurance runs in the top of the ninth. Vanguard answered back in the bottom of the frame with a run from Cameron Hirahara (FR/Grover Beach, CA) who made his game debut as a pinch runner for Perry. Hirahara scored on a RBI single from Fuchs with two outs on, but the late rally attempt was shut down by Westmont.
Schuyler Hill (JR/Long Beach, CA) pitched seven innings for the Pride and there eight strikeout and walked four on 30 batters faced. Hill gave up seven hits and three earned runs. Alex Camacho (JR/Stockton, CA), Jakob Farmer (FR/Norwalk, CA) and Brandon Chambers (JR/Yorba Linda, CA) each made an appearance on the mound. Jared Greer (FR/Anaheim, CA) closed out the contest in the eighth inning and gave up one hit. Vanguard logged nine hits on the game with Elias-Calles, Fuchs, and Weeks recording two hits a piece. Perry, Rodriguez and Kody Wright (JR/Bakersfield, CA) logged a hit a piece.
Game 2: Westmont 7, Vanguard 5
Michael Kashou (SO/Anaheim, CA) started off on the mound for game two and lasted just over three innings. Kashou gave up three hits, four runs, and threw one strikeout on 18 batters faced. Wilson closed out the contest on the mound for the final 3.1 innings and gave up three hits, one run, and walked three. Joe Johnson (FR/Medford, OR) went 2-for-3 at the plate, scored once and logged three RBI while Lucas Martinez (SR/Fairfax, VA) went 2-for-2 and picked up 2 RBI. Fuchs gave a 2-for-4 performance at the plate and scored once, while Perry went 1-for-4 and scored once.
Westmont jumped on a 1-0 lead in the first, but Vanguard matched the run in the bottom of the second inning as Martinez singled to short, causing Sutton to score. The Lions worked to chase down the Westmont lead that had been extended to six runs as the Warriors built on it with a combined five runs in the third and fourth frame. In the bottom of the fourth, Johnson led off with a double and advanced to third on a Weeks groundout. Martinez singled to third for Johnson's run in and the inning came to an end as Neufeld grounded out. The Pride held off the Warrior attempts in the top of the fifth, and pulled within one run of the Warriors at the hands of Johnson. With two runners on and two outs, Johnson stepped up to the plate and sent the pitch soaring over the fence in right field for a three-run homer. The move sent a surge of energy through the Vanguard dugout as the tying run was within reach, but Westmont capitalized on a single to center field that pushed their lead up two runs over the Lions. The comeback in the bottom of the frame could not be completed, and the series ended in a sweep in favor of Westmont.
Next Game: Wednesday, March 28th at Menlo College at 3:00 p.m.
-GOLD PRIDE-
