COSTA MESA, Calif. - The Vanguard University Baseball team (16-2, 7-1) would put the finishing touches of a four-game sweep against Willliam Jessup University (8-6, 0-4) on Saturday afternoon. The Lions put on an impressive display of power, tallying six home runs and 22 runs on the day to push their winning streak to seven games.
What Happened?
Game One: Grady Conner kickstarted the Lions' offense in the bottom of the second with a solo shot to left, his second of the series and sixth of the year. Not to be outdone, Omar Ortiz hit a three-run shot to deep left to take a 4-0 lead to the top of the third. It would be his second homer of the series as well and his third of the year. Aki Buckson was able to manufacture some offense as he hit a ground-rule double and was advanced to third by a ground ball by Matt Land; a passed ball gave him just enough time to race home to give Vanguard a 5-0 lead.
The Pride's display of power continued on in the bottom of the sixth as Isaiah Lee knocked one out of the park, his first of the year, with one on and one out to push the Lions' lead to seven. The Warriors were finally able to get on the board in the top of the seventh as Kevin Jordan Jr. hit a leadoff ground-rule double and made his way home from a single by Kevin Gutierrez through the left side.
Andrew Schmitt would continue this ridiculous explosion of offense in the bottom of the frame as he got a hold of a ball and sent it to deep left for the fourth home run of the day for the Blue and Gold and the first of the year for Schmitt. Luke Arias would keep things rolling in the same inning as he hit a single to left-center to score Gabe Barthelmass from second. Travis Aversa would follow up with a single through the right side to score two more runners. The Lions loaded the bases, two consecutive batters were plunked and Schmitt drew a walk pushing the Lions' lead to 14.
The Warriors would get back on the board in the top of the eighth with back-to-back home runs and then would draw blood once again in the ninth with a solo shot by Max Modeste, but that is all the offense they would be able to manage as the Lions took game one 15-4.
Game Two: After getting out of a jam in the top of the first, the Lions loaded the bases in the bottom of the frame and Omar Ortiz brought a runner in with a chopping groundball to third. Vanguard would put two more runs on the board as Aki Buckson took the leather off the ball with a towering home run to left field that almost left Dean Harvey Field for the fifth homer of the day for the Blue and Gold.
The Pride was able to get two runners aboard in the bottom of the fourth as Chad Sutton and Travis Aversa singled. Landon Riker and Joe Johnson would follow up with a pair of singles of their own to bring in two runs and push the Lions' lead to 5-0. The Warriors would threaten in the top of the fifth, putting runners on first and second with no outs, but Brian Park would record a strikeout and force a groundball that was converted into a double play to end the half-inning.
Joe Johnson would put the finishing touches of the sweep with a two-run shot to right field, the sixth home run of the day for Vanguard. Park would go the distance as he spread around four hits across seven innings while striking out six to earn his third win of the year.
Why It's Important? The Lions stretched their winning streak to seven games while moving to 7-1 in conference play. Within the conference three of the five teams currently active are ranked in the NAIA top-25 poll or receiving votes so it is critical that the Pride continues to perform at a high level; something they managed to achieve today.
Top Performers: Travis Aversa went 4-9 with four runs and two RBI, Joe Johnson went 4-8 with three runs and three RBI, and Aki Buckson would go 3-5 with three runs and two RBI. As a team, the Pride recorded 24 hits, 22 runs, and six home runs on the day.
What They Said: Andrew Schmitt talked about his home run in the first game, saying "I mean yeah it felt really good took a little while this is my fifth year but I mean I was looking for a good pitch to hit and I was able to get one out so it felt really good." Brian Park went on to describe his complete game in the second game, saying "It feels really good I was just trying to pound the zone and help the team win. The defense played a role all series so we just gotta continue that into Point Loma next week."
What's Next: A four-game series against Point Loma Nazarene University starting with a doubleheader on Friday, March 5th with game one starting at 11:00 a.m.
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