LAKELAND, Fla. – The thunder and the rain might have halted play on Friday out in Florida, but it could not stymie the advance of the Vanguard baseball team.  The Lions squared off with No. 25 Keiser and between the squalls, the Blue and Gold were able to secure a 4-1 victory.  A double for Adam Stevens (SR/West Linn, OR) in the bottom of the fifth proved to be the difference, with Justin Graves (SR/Irvine, CA) and Jackson Webber (SR/Bothell, WA) combining for eight innings of quality pitching.  The Lions improve to 5-0 on the year and lower the Seahawks down to 1-5.

What Happened? Graves might not have gotten the win but he put the Lions in a great position for the win before the storm slammed into the field.  He went four innings without giving up a hit or a walk, with a hit batter his only blemish.  He also fanned five while tossing 54 pitches.  VU was once again the designated visiting team and got the first hit of the game in the bottom of the second, as Fred Buckson (SO/Silverdale, WA) lined a double down the left field line.  But there were two outs in the frame and a fly-out ended the threat. 

The Lions threatened again in the bottom of the fourth, as VU tried to score before and after the storm.  A leadoff walk for Dane Nakatsuka (SR/Laguna Niguel, CA) was followed by a couple of fielder's choices, with Oscar Diaz (JR/Los Angeles, CA) ending up on base.  He got to second on a wild pitch and then got to third on another one.  Both Antonio Omphroy (SR/Honolulu, HI) and Buckson took walks to load the bases but another ground ball ended the danger.

On came Webber in the top of the fifth and while he did give up a walk, he soon recorded two-straight outs to keep Keiser from gaining any momentum.  Corey Jarrell (JR/Brewster, WA) singled to right with one out to get things going for VU in the bottom half of the frame  Nakatsuka then dropped in another base hit to center with two outs, as Jarrell cruised into third.  That brought up Stevens and he smoked a double to left-center field bringing in both runners to open the scoring.

Webber gave up a double in the top of the sixth with two outs but soon retired the side with a ground out.  However, the Seahawks would push a run across in the top of the seventh, as a single and an error got two runners on.  The next hitter grounded a ball to short and the Lions got the sure out but saw the advantage drop to 2-1.

But Keiser would not score again and the Lions dug up some more run support for Webber.  Nakatsuka took a walk and got to second on a throwing error by the catcher trying to gun him down.  Stevens beat out a throw on a bunt to put runners on the corners, and Diaz smacked a pitch high and far enough to score Nakatsuka.  Ahead 3-1, Buckson would power a double to the left-field fence to put the Lions ahead 4-1.

Caden Byers (SO/Murrieta, CA) came in to seal the win and he delivered that result.  He gave up a lead-off walk but then got two strikeouts and a flyout to end the game.

The Lions scored four runs on six hits, had one error, and left seven on base.  Keiser had one run on two hits, had one error, and stranded five runners on base.  Webber improves to 1-0 on the year, as he went four innings and struck out three.  Byers collected his first save of the season.  Stevens and Buckson each had two hits to lead the lineup, with Stevens driving in two of the four VU runs.

What was Said? "We got very good pitching and some timely hitting made for a strong team win," said Head Coach Rob Pegg.

Why is it Important?  This was the first matchup between the two programs.  In other conference news, Arizona Christian lost to Southeastern 6-4 but took down Keiser 12-11 and STU 4-3.

What's Next? Vanguard will now play a doubleheader tomorrow due to the rain.  The team will take on reigning NAIA National Champions Southeastern at 8:00 a.m. PST and LSU Shreveport at 12:30 p.m.