COSTA MESA, Calif. - The Vanguard University Baseball team (28-8) bounced back from their loss against USD to earn an 8-6 victory against the University of Antelope Valley (5-3). Joe Johnson had a very strong game for the Blue and Gold as he went 2-3 with four RBI as he hit his fifth home run of the year to pace the Lions offensively.
What Happened? Bryan Gomez started things off with a leadoff single in the first inning and then advanced on a balk. A single up the middle by Manny Perez would score Gomez to give the Pioneers a 1-0 lead. The Lions would immediately respond in the bottom of the frame as Aki Buckson drew a two-out walk and then was brought home with a deep shot by Joe Johnson to right field, his fifth home run of the year.
The Pioneers would load the bases with no outs in the top of the second but the Pride would get out of the inning relatively unscathed given the situation save a RBI single by Josh Miranda that would tie the game up at two. UAV would load the bases once again in the top of the fourth, but this time they would find pay dirt as a single by Jacob Ogle would score two and a sacrifice fly to center field would bring in another as the Pioneers moved ahead by a count of 5-2.
The Lions put together a two-out rally in the bottom of the fifth as Isaiah Lee and Landon Riker drew walks to put two aboard. Buckson would bring home Lee with a bloop single to right field and Joe Johnson would clear the bases with a double into left-center to tie the game up at five. The Pride would pull ahead in the bottom of the sixth as a leadoff single by Grady Conner would start things off before an error on a potential double-play would put two runners in scoring position. A sacrifice fly by Oscar Diaz would score Conner from third, and another sac fly by Riker would score another as the Lions would take a 7-5 lead.
UAV threatened once again in the top of the seventh as an RBI single scored one, but the Lions would immediately respond in the bottom of the frame as Johnson scored on a passed ball to push the lead back to two. The Pioneers loaded the bases in the top of the ninth, but Jared Greer would earn his second save of the year to seal the victory.
Why It's Important? The Pride will now enjoy a nine-day break before jumping back into three conference series to close out the year. The pressure is still on for a strong performance the rest of the way as they only have a half-game lead in the conference standings over Hope International and a two and a half game lead over Westmont College.
Top Performers: Joe Johnson went 2-3 with four RBI and two runs in an explosive performance. Travis Aversa would go 2-4 on the day while Aki Buckson went 1-3 with two RBI. Brian Park would only give up three hits and one earned run in four innings of work and Jared Greer would earn his second save of the year in the win.
What They Said: "Offensively we had a solid team approach and we stuck to it today and it worked out," said Joe Johnson. "Everyone 1-9 hit well today and that's what we can do when we're all in it together." Brian Park also spoke on his strong performance, stating "I just tried to come in and throw strikes and pick up the team energy and get the win."
What's Next: A weekend series against William Jessup University starting with a doubleheader on Friday, April 9th at 11:00 am
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