ATHERTON, Calif. – Brianna Williams (FR/Chandler, AZ) threw her 14th complete game to lead the No. 22-ranked Vanguard softball team to a 2-1 victory over Menlo in the doubleheader opener Saturday at Wunderlich Field. The Lions were on the wrong end of a one-run decision in the nightcap, losing 3-2 as the Oaks walked off with two runs in the bottom of the seventh.
Game 1 – Williams continued her brilliant freshman campaign with her 16th victory, and benefited from some late heroics by the Lion offense.
Trailing 1-0 entering the top half of the seventh, Vanguard rallied for two runs to spoil a solid effort by Menlo starting pitcher Vivian Valencia.
Valencia retired the Lions in order in three of the first four innings – and did so again in the sixth. She had allowed VU just three hits through her first six innings in the circle.
But Bianca Morales (SO/Spring Valley, CA) met Valencia with her conference-high tying fourth triple of the season to lead off the seventh. With one out, Noni Chaves (SO/Ontario, CA) singled to put runners at the corners. Ashley Klopfenstein (JR/Indio, CA) then plated Morales with an RBI single to right to tie the score, Chaves scampering to third on the play.
Emma Noble (FR/Camarillo, CA) drove in the go-ahead run with a ground out to second, scoring Chaves.
After allowing a run in the second inning via a Mia Thompson RBI triple, Williams settled into a groove and retired 15 straight Oaks at one point.
Williams yielded a one out single to Malia Johnson in the bottom half of the seventh, but got a fly out and ground out to squelch any thoughts of a Menlo comeback.
Williams allowed just two hits while walking one and striking out four. She won her ninth consecutive start.
Chaves and Klopfenstein combined to go 5-for-5 from the plate, while the rest of the Lion offense went 1-for-20. Chaves produced a career-high three hits in the winning effort.
Game 2 – The Lions had designs on a doubleheader sweep, but those plans were foiled as the Oaks mirrored Vanguard's game one comeback with two runs in the seventh.
In this case, the home team ended the game with those two runs.
Anniyah Farley (JR/Hemet, CA) pitched brilliantly for the Lions, but was victimized by Menlo's speed. Staked to a 2-1 lead entering the home half of the seventh, Farley allowed an infield leadoff single to pinch hitter Bella Cortez, who just beat the throw from second.
Cortez then stole second to put a runner into scoring position for Jadalee Takara. Takara laid down a perfectly placed bunt that found space in no man's land behind and to the left of the circle. Cortez scampered all the way home from second on the RBI bunt single to knot the score at 2-2.
Takara moved to third when the next batter, Alyssa Valdez, grounded out to shortstop.
Brianna Williams then replaced Farley, making just her third bullpen appearance. With intentions of stranding Valdez at third and forcing extra innings, Williams instead loaded the bases on a hit by pitch and walk.
Thompson followed with a single just past the diving second baseman to drive in Takara with the walkoff winner.
Farley, who fell to 1-3 on the year, had allowed just a single and a walk to the Oaks through the first three frames. Her only blemish up until the seventh was a Menlo run in the fifth.
The Lions looked to be in good shape with a two-run fourth. They scored a pair of runs off Menlo starting pitcher Morgan Thomason, helped by consecutive errors from the Oaks infield.
Five different Lions produced five hits off Thomason, who improved to 2-7 on the year. She walked two and fanned two.
Why Is It Important?: Vanguard settled for a split of its northern California roadtrip after playing in three straight one-run games. The Lions are 9-4 this season in such contests.
What's Next?: The Lions play their final regular season nonconference game on Wednesday, March 16 when they travel to Chapman for a 4:30 p.m. start.
