COSTA MESA, Calif. - The fourth-ranked Vanguard University Baseball team (25-5, 13-3) faced another dangerous foe in tenth-ranked Hope International University (15-7, 11-5). The Lions had just finished a series with 13th-ranked Westmont before facing another ranked opponent in the HIU Royals. The Lions dropped the first game 4-8 before edging out the visitors in a pitching duel by a score of 2-1.
What Happened?
Game One: Hope International got on the board in the top of the first as an RBI single and a balk would bring home two runners, but the Lions would immediately counter with a run of their own as Omar Ortiz hit a sac fly to right with runners on the corners. The Royals struck once again in the top of the third as they loaded the bases and advanced as the Lions stepped out of play on a foul ball. Tyler Lasch would proceed to slap a double to right to bring home two more, pushing the score to 5-1 in their favor.
Both teams were able to put a run on the board in the fourth inning as Tony Monroy brought home Dailin Lee, while Travis Aversa's single brought Matt Land home after a leadoff double. A comedy of errors would score two more for the Royals in the top of the fifth as they pushed their lead to 8-2. A single by Travis Aversa would put a runner aboard in the bottom of the seventh and he would round the bases alongside Omar Ortiz as Diaz homered to right to cut the deficit to four. The Lions put two runners on in the bottom of the ninth, but Hope International got out of the jam with no damage as they took the first game 8-4. Game Two: The Royals struck first once again in the second game as Robert Mattei hit a leadoff single in the bottom of the third and came home thanks to a double to left-center by Brennan McKenzie. The Lions would even things up in the bottom of the fourth as Grady Conner rounded the bases thanks to a couple of Royal errors. Joe Johnson would bring Conner home with a groundout to third. The Lions loaded the bases in the bottom of the fifth as Riker drew a walk, Buckson singled up the middle, and Ortiz reached on a fielding error. but Hope International got out of the jam to keep things tied at one. Joe Johnson turned the tide of the game with one swing of the bat as his home run in the bottom of the sixth would put the Pride ahead 2-1. Matt Lester would come in and earn his sixth save of the year, his previous total of five ranked sixth in the NAIA, as the Pride rebounded in game two to earn the win.
Why It's Important? After splitting the four-game series with Westmont College, the Lions faced another tough test in the battle between two teams ranked in the top ten. The Royals entered the series two games back in the conference standings but failed to gain any ground as they split the first two games of the series.
Top Performers:
Travis Aversa finished the day going 5-7 at the plate with a double and two RBI.
Oscar Diaz went 2-2 in game one with a home run and two RBI, while
Joe Johnson hit the game-winning home run in the second game.
Tyler Armenta earned his fourth win of the season as he scattered six hits over six innings pitched while only giving up one earned run.
What They Said: Joe Johnson spoke on his game-winner, saying "I was leading off the inning and I was just trying to get on base and set something up for the guys behind me, you know that team over there is really good so it was a must-win game for us. He just left something over the plate and I was able to drive it out of the park."
What's Next: The second half of the four-game series will start Friday, March 26th at 11:00 a.m.
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