COSTA MESA, Calif - In the opening day of Vanguard's final conference series of the year, the Lions let two slip away to William Jessup. After losing game one 6-7, the Blue and Gold were bested in part two of the double header by a score of 1-2. The losses put VU at 31-18 overall and 17-13 in conference play with only two games remaining.
Game 1: Vanguard 7, William Jessup 8
Michael Kashou (JR/Anaheim, CA) got off to a strong start in the first inning. After forcing a ground out to Chad Sutton (SO/Scottsdale, AZ), he sat down the next Warrior two strikeouts. The Lions took advantage of a few Warrior miscues along with three hits to take a 4-0 lead after one complete, but William Jessup applied pressure in the second. After loading the bases with zero outs, a sacrifice fly to center scored one. In the bottom of two, Caleb Squire (SR/Arvada, CO) singled and Omar Ortiz (JR/Las Vegas, NV) sent one deep to put VU on top 6-1. Vangaurd maintained their distance until the fifth when the Warriors tallied three runs behind a trio of hits. In the sixth, Vanguard reclaimed a slim 7-6 lead from two errors and hits from Squirre and Ortiz. In the top of the eighth, Ryan Daugherty (SR/Laguna Niguel, CA) checked into the game and recorded three straight outs. The Warriors weren't done, and scored two off a homer in the top of the ninth to go ahead 8-7. Vanguard failed to send the game into extras and fell 7-8.
Game 2: Vanguard , William Jessup
The Warriors struck first in the second game, but Vanguard equalized the score in the second with one run. Ortiz opened with a double and moved to third on a sacrifice fly from Joe Johnson (SO/Medford, OR). He scored on a hit from Sam Neufeld (SR/Indio, CA) through the left side. In the third, the Warriors posted one with the help of a few walks and a Lion mistake. The Warriors threatened in the top of five, but Neufeld nabbed a fly ball in foul territory to escape the threat and remain within one. Despite the defensive efforts, and pitching from Jakob Farmer (SO/Norwalk, CA) out of the bull pen, the Lions failed to made a comeback in the seventh and fell 1-2.
Next Game: Thursday, April 25th at 11 a.m. against William Jessup for the final two games of the conference finale. The match in Costa Mesa, CA is also Senior Day.
#ClawsUp
