COSTA MESA -- Vanguard Baseball started its second Golden State Athletic Conference series Friday with two games against Ottawa University of Arizona. It was a tale of two different games, as VU shut out OUAZ 4-0 in game one and then the Spirit shut down the Lions 7-0 in game two. That will make the Lions 20-4 overall and 4-2 in the conference, while the Spirit improve to 7-12 overall and 3-7 in the GSAC.
What Happened? G1: The Lions had Lucas Bixby (JR/DeWitt, IA) on the mound and their starter was cruising early, getting through the first inning with only one single allowed. However, the offense was slow to start for Vanguard as well, going down in order to Ottawa's starter Anthony Quattrocchi.
Bixby allowed two singles in the top of the second but the Lions made some good defensive plays to strand both runners aboard. In the bottom half, Aki Buckson (SR/Silverdale, WA) doubled into the left-field corner with one out to get the Lions going. A ground ball pushed him to third and Chad Sutton (SR/Scottsdale, AZ) smacked a single back up the middle to score the first run of the game.
Bixby had to work hard again in the top of the third as the Spirit snapped two more singles off of him, but a pop-out and a strikeout put OUAZ away in the inning. The Blue and Gold got two on in the bottom of the third but no one could get them home. No runs were scored for a few innings but after a scoreless top half of the sixth from Bixby, the Lions got the insurance they needed.
Joe Johnson (SR/Medford, OR) started the bottom of the sixth with a single and Dane Nakatsuka (JR/Laguna Niguel, CA) reached on an error. That brought up Buckson and he smashed a home run off the netting in left field to put the Lions ahead 4-0.
That would do it for the scoring, as Caden Byers (FR/Murrieta, CA) and Jared Greer (SR/Anaheim, CA) gave up only one hit over the top of the eighth and ninth to give Vanguard the victory. VU scored four runs on six hits, left five on base, and had no errors. The Spirit might have smacked the ball around but they could not muster a run on nine hits, leaving nine on base, and committing one error.
Bixby went seven to get the win, striking out three on the way, to improve to 5-0 on the year. Quattrocchi falls to 1-2. Johnson and Buckson each had two hits in the game, with Sutton and Oscar Diaz (SO/Los Angeles, CA) netting the other two.
G2: Justin Graves (JR/Irvine, CA) had a rocky start to game two, recording a strikeout but then giving up a walk and a single. But the big south-paw then fanned the next two to end the threat. Vanguard could not get anything off of OUAZ starter Tanner Fallon and so the game moved to the second.
The Spirit compiled quite the offensive inning off of Graves, as they loaded the bases and scored a run on a balk. A hit batter then loaded the bases again and shortstop Adrian Salazar lined a grand slam to left to clear the bases.
The Blue and Gold tried to get something going in the bottom half, as Buckson got a one-out single and Diaz walked but they would be stuck there, as Fallon got Matthew Land (SR/Eugene, OR) to strikeout. OUAZ then scored one more in the top of the third off an error to push the Spirit advantage to 6-0.
The scoring then dried up, as the pitchers went through the lineups but only the Spirit would score again, as they tagged on a run in the top of the sixth off a double to go ahead 7-0. Vanguard ended with only three total hits and could not take advantage of the four walks that Fallon surrendered in his four innings of work, falling by a final score of 7-0.
OUAZ scored seven runs on eight hits, had no errors, and left 11 on base. VU had two errors and stranded seven runners on the bases. Graves falls to 4-1, as he had seven Ks, four walks, six hits, and six runs all earned over five innings. Toby Welty (SR/Colorado Springs, CO) gave up one run and Zander Fletcher (JR/Costa Mesa, CA) finished the game with no runs and one walk in the seventh. Fallon picks up his first win for the year. Buckson again had the numbers to lead the way, as he had two hits and two stolen bases in the game.
What was said? "Really pleased with the strong start Bixby gave us in game one," said Head Coach Rob Pegg. "Rest of the staff was solid getting us our first shutout of the year. OUAZ responded well in game two. We'll need our best focus and effort all day tomorrow."
What's Next? Another doubleheader against the Spirit starting at 11:00 a.m. on the Dean Harvey Field.
