MONTGOMERY, Ala. – After pulling out all the stops in a total team effort just over 12 hours before to force the if-necessary game, the Vanguard Lions (40-16) could not overpower the Faulkner Eagles (38-10). The final margin would be 20-10 although the difference in hits was only 15-14 favoring the Eagles.
What Happened? With the pitching staff running on fumes after throwing 46 innings over the last two and a half days, the Blue and Gold were hoping for a combined pitching performance to propel them to Lewiston. Starter Michael Kashou (SR/Anaheim, CA) gave up two runs in the first inning, despite the fact that he was hitting his spots. A six run third inning by the Eagles put the Pride in a large deficit. Not scared of the mountain ahead, the offense exploded for five runs to get the team right back in it. Aki Buckson (JR/Silverdale, WA) got the ball rolling with a single and then scored on a double from Omar Ortiz (SR/Las Vegas, NV). Grady Conner (SR/Costa Mesa, CA) would then plate him before a three-run blast from Luke Arias (SO/Spring Valley, CA) made things really interested. Between the fifth and seventh innings, the Lions would put five pitchers on the bump looking for anyone with gas left in the tank. Along the way, the margin grew from 8-5 to 18-6 as Faulkner scored 10 runs across those three innings. Both teams kept fighting and swinging the bat well. In the bottom of the seventh inning, the Pride would plate a run on a Joe Johnson (JR/Medford, OR) single to score Buckson. Similarly, in the bottom of the eighth, Matthew Land (JR/Eugene, OR) doubled to left center to score Isaiah Lee (JR/Santa Ana, CA). In the ninth inning, both teams would score two runs each. Battling until the very end, Buckson hit his 17th home run of the season to score himself and Landon Riker (SR/Marysville, WA).
Why It's Important? It was a loser leaves town matchup with a spot in the NAIA World Series on the line. After finding themselves in the same situation five years ago, the Pride was looking to exact revenge for the narrow 5-3 margin. They were also looking to break the all-time win mark in a season. They entered the same with a 40-15 record which was tied in the win column with the 2016 team who finished 40-17-1. This year's edition of the Blue and Gold will edge them narrowly out of by win percentage with one less loss and without the tie.
Top Performers: Ortiz broke out of his hitting slump by going 5-5 with two doubles, two RBI, and a scored run. Buckson had himself a day going 2-4 with a pair of RBI and three scored runs. Land was 3-4 with an RBI and a run. Luke Arias made the most of his 1-3 day hitting a three-run blast. In all, nine pitchers took the mound for the Lions including field player Elijah Weeks (JR/Murrieta, CA) who closed out the final inning.
Inside the Box Score: The key difference in this contest was 13 walked batters by the Vanguard pitchers and only drawing two offensively. In total, the Pride had to throw 222 pitchers to complete this game while their opponents only had to through 136. Today was the 17th time this season the Blue and Gold scored double digit runs.
What They Said: Head Coach Rob Pegg – "I am incredibly proud of this team. In my 15 years of coaching, this has been the most talented and best character group of men from top to bottom. We came up short on our goal, but we battled until the final out. We are losing some key leaders on our team and from our pitching staff, but I know this team will be back next year to finish the job. We played in a very tough bracket this week but proved that we can compete with the best programs in the country."
Tournament Totals: On the mound, the Lions threw a field high 45 innings and allowed 42 total runs for an 8.40 ERA on a staggering 844 pitchers thrown. Vanguard as a team batted .280 on 175 at bats and recorded seven RBI per game and a tournament high 35 total. Three of the top five individuals in batting for the bracket were a member of the Pride. Land was first at .467, Arias was third at .438 and Johnson fifth at .429. Arias was second in RBI and homeruns while Buckson was first in runs scored and home runs.
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