Surprise, Ariz. - The No. 23 Lions secured two wins against the Spirit behind effective pitching from Michael Kashou (JR/Anaheim, CA) and Schuyler Hill (SR/Long Beach, CA). Kashou collected his seventh win of the 2019 campaign in game one while Hill tossed a one hit shut out for the 5-0 game two victory. VU is currently 24-10 overall and 13-5 in conference play.
Game 1: Vanguard 10, OUAZ 3
Landon Riker (JR/Marysville, WA) ripped a solo home run on his first pitch for the 1-0 Lion lead in the first. The Spirit rebounded with two runs in the bottom of the inning, but the Lions reclaimed the lead in the second when Grady Conner (JR/Costa Mesa, CA) tripled to center to score Sam Neufeld (SR/Indio, CA) and Maxx Mahon (SR/Lexington, KY). After four scoreless innings, Julio Rivera (SR/Puerto Rico) singled to right center and Conner walked to start the seventh. Riker reached on a fielder's choice to score one Lion. Caleb Squire (SR/Arvada, CO) nabbed another walk before Joe Johnson (SO/Medford, OR) singled to right center for one RBI. OUAZ tallied a lone run in the bottom of the seventh, but VU errupted with four runs in the eighth to take a commanding 9-3 lead. The rally began with an error on Neufeld's hit. He stole second and scored on a Rivera RBI. Chad Sutton (SO/Scottsdale, AZ) was hit by a pitch before Conner knocked a three run homer to right field. In the Lions' final at bat, Johnson doubled to right center and scored on two wild pitches. Kashou was credited the win for the 10-3 victory, tossing six innings with seven strikeouts.
Game 2: Vanguard 5, OUAZ 0
Vanguard got on the board with two runs in the third when Sutton sent a solo home run deep to left center. In the fifth, Conner and Riker each hit solo home runs to put VU on top 3-0. The following inning, Josh Weeks (JR/Murrieta, CA), in to pinch run for Rivera, scored on a single from Conner up the middle. During the final inning, the Lions extended the difference to five. Johnson tripled with one out and scored when Ortiz knocked a double to right field. Hill completed the game with three straight outs against the Spirit in the bottom of the ninth. Hill struck out 11 and allowed only one hit in the shut out.
Next Game: Saturday, March 30 in a double header against OUAZ beginning at 11 a.m. in Surprise, AZ.
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