COSTA MESA, Calif. - The Vanguard University Baseball team (21-3, 9-1) matched their win total from last year's campaign before COVID-19 forced the cancellation of the season, as they took the first and second games of a four-game series against San Diego Christian (2-19, 0-14). The Pride had to hold off a late comeback in the first game as they earned a 7-6 victory before imposing their will in the second game to earn a 13-4 victory.
What Happened?
Game One: The Lions would provide some instant offense in the first inning as Landon Riker (SR/Marysville, WA) hit a leadoff double and Joe Johnson (JR/Medford, OR) would bring him home two batters later with a deep shot to right-center, his second of the year, to take a 2-0 lead. In the bottom of the third, Landon Riker would follow his earlier double with a triple to deep right. Aki Buckson (JR/Silverdale, WA) would ground out to the third baseman, giving Riker enough time to race home.
The Hawks would get on the board in the top of the fourth as Jake Luther hit an RBI single into left to score Johnny Radomskiy from second. Landon Riker would score his third run of the day as he walked, stole a base, and headed home courtesy of a single by Buckson, his second RBI of the day, to give the Lions a 4-1 lead. Tommy Rodriguez (SO/Yucaipa, CA) would extend the lead to five as he hammered a home run over the netting in left, his first of the year. The Hawks would put two more on the board as Thomas Reindl stepped to the plate as a pinch hitter with two runners in scoring position and two outs. Reindl would knock a single into left scoring two before getting caught trying to stretch the single to a double. Omar Ortiz (SR/Las Vegas, NV) would get in on the action in the bottom of the seventh as he lined a single to left with two on and two out to push the Lions' lead to 7-3.
Radomskiy would inch the Hawks one step closer with a two-run home run to left to cut their deficit to two runs in the eighth, and a double by Billy Strohm in the ninth would score another, but Matt Lester (SR/Salem, OR) would come in and record his fifth save of the year as the Lions earned a 7-5 victory in game one.
Game Two: The Lions would jump out in front once again in game two as Landon Riker recorded his second double of the day in the bottom of the first. A double by Ortiz would score Riker and a single by Conner would score Ortiz to give the Lions a 2-0 edge early on. Aki Buckson would keep things rolling in the bottom of the third as he hit his sixth home run of the year to push the advantage to three. Not to be outdone, Omar Ortiz would hit a two-run shot, his fifth of the year, to give the Pride a 5-0 lead. RBI doubles by Rodriguez and Sutton and a fielding error would push the lead to eight as the Lions racked up six runs in total in the third.
Tommy Rodriguez would record his second hit and second RBI of the day in the bottom of the fourth as he singled through the left side to score Conner from second. Aki Buckson would bring home the tenth run of the day for the Blue and Gold as he singled through the right side with two on and one out in the bottom of the fifth. Joe Johnson would keep the inning going with a RBI single into right, and a sacrifice fly by Andrew Schmitt (SR/Cypress, CA) would give the Pride a 14-0 lead. The Hawks loaded the bases and an RBI single by Peyton Berroth would put the first two runs on the board for the visiting side. SDCC would score one more run in the top of the seventh, but Brandon Steele (SR/Kingsburg, CA) would close out the game as the Lions would take the second game 13-4.
Why It's Important? The Lions went 21-6 last year before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of their season, but the Lions have picked up right where they left off as they currently own a record of 21-3. The Lions have 10 statistical categories that rank in the top 15 nationally including ERA (11th: 3.14), Hits (13th: 214), and Opponents Batting Average (13th: .210).
Top Performers: Omar Ortiz went 5-7 with 4 RBI and a home run, Landon Riker went 3-7 with four runs, and Tommy Rodriguez went 3-7 with 4 RBI on the day. Both pitchers for the Pride were rock solid as Armenta went six innings while only allowing three runs while striking out four, while Michael Kashou (SR/Anaheim, CA) went five innings deep while scattering three hits and striking out five.
What They Said: "We feel great about the team wins since it was conference play," said Joe Johnson. "Each game is really important, and at the end of the day we're trying to get to Lewiston so these conference games are good for us and we're just trying to get to the World Series."
What's Next: The second half of the four-game series will take place on Saturday, March 13th with the first game starting at 11:00 a.m.
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