COSTA MESA, Calif. - Vanguard Baseball beat Bethesda for the second time this year Friday afternoon. The 14-1 win makes the Lions 7-0 at the start of the 2019 season. VU's win was the fifth time they have reached double digits this year, fueld by 18 hits from 10 Lions.
Justin Graves (FR/Irvine, CA) got three outs in the top of the first with the help of a double play. Vanguard jumped on the board early, starting with when Caleb Squire (SR/Arvada, CO) was hit by a pitch. After being hit, he moved to second on a pass ball before Landon Riker (JR/Marysville, WA)'s double down the left line brought him home. Joe Johnson (SO/Medford, OR) came up with two outs and his single to third base scored Riker for a 2-0 lead. In the bottom of two, Josh Weeks (JR/Murrieta, CA) and Chad Sutton (SO/Scottsdale, AZ) started the inning with two singles. Sam Neufeld (SR/Indio, CA) brought Weeks home and another Riker base hit advanced the score to 4-0. Riker carried the offense into the fifth with a one out single. Maxx Mahon (SR/Lexington, KY) followed up with a double to right center for one RBI. Julio Rivera (SR/Puerto Rico) doubled down the left line to move Mahon to third and Weeks was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Sutton drew a walk to bring in a Lion for another two run inning. Although the Lions allowed a lone run in the sixth, Vanguard came back with three more on a two run homer from Mahon and a Rivera RBI single. They closed the game out with two runs in seventh, with consecutive home runs from Lee and Neufeld.
Mahon went 3-5 at the plate with three hits, three RBI, one double and a home run. Riker was also 3-5 with three runs, three RBI, a double and a homer. Rivera, Neufeld and Johnson each posted two hits. Graves got the win after throwing five complete innings with two strikeouts.
"As a team we enjoy going out there everyday and playing games," Riker said. "Our team chemistry is working out very well and our preparation too. As a team we are one unit which helps us out a lot."
Next Game: Saturday, Feb. 9th at 12 p.m. against Bethesda in Costa Mesa, CA.
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