COSTA MESA, Calif. - Vanguard University (15-5, 4-2) earned two more wins during the first half of the four-game series against Hope International University (13-7, 6-4) on Friday afternoon. The Lions scored 25 combined runs, including five home runs, as both games ended up being high-scoring affairs between two conference foes.
Game 1: Vanguard University 18, Hope International 11
The high-scoring affair began almost immediately as the Royals would tally a run in the first. The Lions would respond with a couple of two-run home runs from Joe Johnson (JR/Medford, OR) and Grady Conner (SR/Costa Mesa, CA). With two runners on base, HIU answered Vanguard's offensive surge with a three-run home run to tie the game 4-4 in the second inning. Landon Riker (SR/Marysville, WA) stepped up in the bottom of the second and hit his own three-run home run to take back the lead, while Johnson continued to fuel the fire with his second home run of the day.
After a scoreless third inning, the Royals tied the game once again 8-8 with a pair of doubles in the fourth inning. The Pride retaliated again with two runs in the bottom of the fourth. During the fifth inning, Riker battled in the batter's box with the bases loaded and earned a walk to move a runner home. Aki Buckson (JR/Silverdale, WA) mirrored the same play and a double from Johnson advanced the two runners home. Isaiah Lee (SO/Santa Ana, CA) got in on the fun and singled to center field to bring home a pair of runs, giving the Pride a 16-9 lead.
The Royals scored two more runs off a two-run home run, but the Blue and Gold managed to hold HIU scoreless till the end of the game. The Pride also recorded two more runs in the eighth inning to earn the 18-11 victory. Johnson snagged four hits during his five at-bats with two home runs, six RBI, and three runs. Riker tallied four RBI and four runs during his two at-bats during the first game. Garrett Molnar (SR/La Habra, CA) earned his fourth pitching win of the season and had three strikeouts.
Game 2: Vanguard University 7, Menlo College 6
The Royals took control of the second game early on after scoring a run in the first inning and tallying five in the third inning. After a couple of scoreless innings for the home team, VU managed to score a single run in the bottom of the third and the fourth.
After stepping up on defense and holding HIU scoreless through the last inning, the Lions managed to secure the win with five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning.
In the bottom of the fifth with two outs and no one on base, Buckson homered to turn the score 6-3 and begin cutting into the Royals' lead. Then Conner singled with two runners on base and managed to score one of them. Chad Sutton (JR/Scottsdale, AZ) sent the ball through the gap in left to bring home two runners. Sutton would score the eventual game-winner on a wild pitch to give the Lions a 7-6 win.
Brian Park (FR/Los Angeles, CA) earned his second win of the season on the mound and had two strikeouts. Sergio Montano (SR/El Centro, CA) earned the save as he closed the door on any thoughts of a comeback in the top of the seventh.
"It was a lot of teamwork in the dugout and in the bullpen. The team was pumped and we fire each other up," said Montano. "Our team supports each other and we always have each other's back. We closed out that one together as a team."
Next Game: Saturday, February 29th against Hope International at 11:00 am.
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