COSTA MESA – Vanguard defeated visiting Westcliff, 8-0, as pitcher Tyler Armenta (SR/Anaheim, CA) threw his first career shutout to highlight Wednesday's nonconference baseball contest at Dean Harvey Field.
The Lions moved to 38-10 on the year while the Warriors dropped to 12-15.
What Happened?: Armenta became the first Vanguard hurler since Jordan Dreibelbis to hurl a nine-inning shutout. Dreibelbis achieved the feat three times four seasons ago, the last against San Diego Christian on April 6, 2018.
The right-hander scattered eight hits and did not walk a batter while throwing 101 pitches. He also struck out four.
Armenta retired the side in the second and forced the Warriors to ground into double plays in the sixth, seventh and ninth innings. He punctuated the victory with a strikeout of catcher Zach Sorando to end the game.
The Lions used a five-run fourth inning to break the game open as the lineup pounded out 11 hits, including a pair of home runs. VU has hit 10 homers over the last four games and now ranks 15th in the country with 52 on the year.
Vanguard took a 1-0 lead in the second as Ian McIntyre (JR/Tempe, AZ) scored on a wild pitch.
Luke Arias (JR/Spring Valley, CA) drew a one-out walk in the fourth to bring up the top of the order in Matthew Land (SR/Eugene, OR), who unloaded a moonshot into right field for his third homer of the season – second in as many games – and a 3-0 lead.
Travis Aversa (SR/Fountain Valley, CA) singled and Joe Johnson (SR/Medford, OR) doubled with two outs to put runners at second and third, sending the Westcliff head coach to the mound to yank starter Evan Chamberlin. Reliever Blake Costa walked Chad Sutton (SR/Scottsdale, AZ) to load the bases. Tommy Rodriguez (JR/Yucaipa, CA) followed with a two-run single to right field to increase VU's lead to 5-0.
Isaiah Lee (SR/Santa Ana, CA) added another run to VU's total with a single through the right side, scoring Sutton and completing a five-run, five-hit inning.
Westcliff threatened Armenta's shutout in the seventh as a single and an error led to runners at the corners, but Wyatt Baptiste grounded into an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play.
Vanguard added a pair of insurance runs in the eighth to go up 8-0. Johnson stroked a one-out single for his third hit of the game, followed by Sutton, who took a 2-1 pitch deep to left field for his eighth home run of the year.
The Lions got multiple hits from four players. Land finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two walks. Aversa went 2-for-4, while Rodriguez knocked in a pair of runs with his two hits. Johnson recorded his 18th multi-hit game of the year with a 3-for-5 performance at the dish.
Armenta improved to 5-3 on the year, while Chamberlin took the loss to fall to 0-2.
Why Is It Important?: The Lions returned to the win column after dropping a pair of tough games at William Jessup on Saturday.
What Was Said?: "Really happy for Tyler today," said Head Coach Rob Pegg. "He's a four-year guy who earned this opportunity and he took full advantage. Fun to watch."
What's Next?: The Lions take a break from Golden State Athletic Conference play this weekend and return to the diamond on Tuesday, April 19, hosting Bethesda at 2:30 p.m.
