IRVINE, Calif. - The Lions (1-0) faced off against the Westcliff Warriors (0-1) on Saturday afternoon at the Great Park stadium and came out with the victory 13-5 in their opening day debut. This game was the first time in history the two programs played against each other and is Vanguard's first win of the season.
The first three innings of the matchup between the Warriors and the Lions were scoreless, a testament to both team's defense. Chad Sutton (JR/Scottsdale, AZ) was the first to score in the 2020 season for Vanguard off a homer to left center that allowed the Lions to snag the lead during the top of the fourth inning. The Warriors quickly retaliated with a sacrificial fly to bring the runner home and tie the game in the bottom of the fourth inning.
The Lions collected five runs the fifth inning, after Matthew Land (JR/Eugene, OR)'s hit allowed Elijah Weeks (SO/Murrieta, CA) to score, as well as Grady Conner (SR/Costa Mesa, CA). Joe Johnson (JR/Medford, OR) also homered to right field and brought home two more runs that put the Lions ahead 5-3 at the end of the sixth inning. Johnson also homered again in the seventh inning.
The Lions did managed to weather the storm of strong offense from the Warriors in the seventh inning, where they managed to cut Vanguard's lead down to two. However, the Lions secured their win with four runs in the eighth inning and another in ninth to finish the afternoon with a 13-5 win over the Warriors.
Defensively, Garret Molnar lead the Blue and Gold pitchers with four strikeouts and only allowed three hits. Luke Arias (FR/Spring Valley, CA) also had 12 of the 27 outs for the Lions. Johnson lead the team offensively racking up six RBI and three hits of his five at bat chances. In total, the Lions scored 13 runs off their 15 hits and only had five players left on base during the nine innings.
"It feels great to break it open and start the year strong," Grady Conner said. "Staying loose and trusting all the work we have put in this year was key to our success today".
Next Game: Saturday, January 25th against Westcliff University in a double header at 11:00 am in Costa Mesa, CA.
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