COSTA MESA, Calif. – Playing their fifth and sixth games in a four-day span, the 18th ranked Lions welcomed La Sierra University (0-2) to Dean Harvey Field on President's Day. Vanguard secured victories by 8-4 and 8-0 counts to move to 9-1 on the year.
What Happened? On the Holiday Monday with cloudy, breezy conditions it took a while for both teams to get going. The Lions struck first in the bottom of the third inning on a single off the bat of Cameron Hirahara (SR/Grover Beach, CA). The Golden Eagles wasted no time as they quickly countered with four scores of their own. Singles by Chad Sutton (JR/Scottsdale, AZ) and Joe Johnson (JR/Medford, OR) plated two runs which closed it to a 4-3 gap before tying to game in the fifth with an Elijah Weeks (JR/Murrieta, CA) single to left. Grady Conner (SR/Costa Mesa, CA) sealed the win for the Pride on a three-run shot to right field and Chad Sutton scored on a throwing error for the insurance runs.
Like the first contest, the Lions waited until the third inning where they scored a single run on a home run by Travis Aversa (JR/Fountain Valley, CA). The game blew wide open in the fifth inning when the Blue and Gold light up the scoreboard for six runs. There were RBI singles by Omar Ortiz (SR/Las Vegas, NV) and Aversa long with RBI doubles with Conner and Sutton. Andrew Schmitt (SR/Cypress, CA) added the 16th and final run of the day for the Pride.
Why It's Important? Today marked the first contests of the year for the Golden Eagles, a familiar team that the Pride plays each season. They are 20-1 all-time against La Sierra. This was the final tune up series before the Lions begin Golden State Athletic Conference play this weekend.
Top Performers: Conner was 2-7 on the day but drove in four runs while Aversa was 4-5 with a pair of scorers and four runs driven in. Relief pitcher Jackson Webber (JR/Bothell, WA) (1-1) earned the win in Game One for pitching two shutout innings where he faced only seven total batters. Game Two starter Zach Saufl (FR/Kings Christian Collegiate High School) (1-0) pitched five scoreless innings to earn his first win wearing a Vanguard uniform.
What They Said: Travis Avera – "My approach today was just to get on base and let the guys behind me drive me in. They're good hitters and I'm just glad I could help my team win today. Just taking it one game at a time, Hope International coming up this weekend should be fun."
What's Next: Friday, February 19th at Hope International University at 11:00 a.m.
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