MEDFORD, Ore. – Vanguard softball looked to pick up win number one of the 2023 season on Saturday, as the Lions squared off with Simpson in Medford.  VU got some clutch hitting in the first game to beat the Red Hawks 4-2 and get into the win column for the season.  However, Simpson struck late in game two with seven runs, allowing the Red Hawks to win 9-4 in the second contest.  VU goes to 1-3 on the year, while Simpson goes to 1-1.

What Happened? Brianna Williams (SO/Chandler, AZ) would take the circle Saturday for game one and she was able to keep the Red Hawks at bay for almost the entire game.  She struck out 10 hitters over the complete-game win, giving up only two walks and seven hits. 

With Simpson suppressed for the most part, the Lions got to work offensively in the bottom of the first.  Ashley Klopfenstein (SR/Indio, CA) took a leadoff walk and a sac-bunt got her to second.  Kaylie Williams (SO/Moreno Valley, CA) opened the scoring by slashing a single right up the middle, with Klopfenstein hustling home to make it 1-0 VU.  Vanguard struck again in the bottom of the third, with Kaylie Williams taking a walk.  That brought up Carli Row (JR/Riverside, CA) and she smashed a ball to the right-center field fence which allowed the DP to race all the way to third for a triple, with Williams scoring to make it 2-0.

The Lions then put up what would be the winning runs in the top of the fifth.  Klopfenstein took another lead-off walk and then stole second.  Bianca Morales (JR/Spring Valley, CA) also accepted a walk and Kaylie Williams followed that up by smacking a ball to third.  The Simpson defender could not get a clean handle on it, allowing Williams to reach first, with Klopfenstein scoring and Morales getting to second.  Morales scooted to third on a fly out by Row and Brianna Williams took a walk to juice the bases.  Simpson starter Kylee Potes then launched a pitch to the backstop, allowing Morales to score and put the Lions ahead 4-0.

The two mistakes proved costly for the Red Hawks.  The designated visiting team had gotten three runners into scoring position over the first six frames but had not been able to push one of them home.  But that changed in the top of the seventh. Simpson got a one-out walk and the following hitter, Isabella Munoz, blasted a ball over the fence to make it 4-2.  Brianna Williams struck out the next hitter and then got some help from her defense, as a quick grounder allowed the Red Hawk batter to reach first.  But Adrianna Natividad (SO/Norwalk, CA) saw her getting too far off of first and made a quick throw to Morales to get her out and hand the Lions and Williams win number one of the year. 

Vanguard scored four runs on three hits, left seven on base, and committed one error.  Simpson had two runs on seven hits, had one error, and also left seven on base.  Kaylie Williams, Row, and Ashlyn Whipple (FR/Las Vegas, NV) each got hits for Vanguard.

Game 2

The second half of the doubleheader against Simpson went off script late in the ball game, as the Lions would see a 2-2 game end 9-4 in favor of the Red Hawks.  Mari Ipatzi (FR/Oxnard, CA) got her first-ever start on Saturday and went five innings in her debut.  She allowed two hits to Simpson in the top of the first but worked a couple of pop-ups and a ground out to retire the side. She then picked up two big strikeouts to help keep the Red Hawks off the board in the top of the second.

Unfortunately, Simpson struck first in the top of the third, as the leadoff hitter smoked a triple to left-center field.  A sac-fly two batters later put the Red Hawks up 1-0, but Ipatzi would end the threat from there.  SU would go up 2-0 in the top of the fifth, as a single and a stolen base allowed a one-out double to add another tally for the Red Hawks. 

However, the Blue and Gold came back with two runs of their own in the bottom half of the frame.  Klopfenstein reached on an error by the SU shortstop with two outs and then stole second.  Marissa Gurrola (SO/Downey, CA) then battered a triple to the left-center alley to make it 2-1.  Another wayward Simpson pitch allowed Gurrola to run home and tie the game at 2-2, giving VU plenty of life.

But the energy was soon drained, as the Red Hawks posted seven runs in the top of the sixth to leave the Lions in their dust.  Vanguard got a lone run in the bottom of the sixth off a Morales home run and again in the seventh, as Tiffany Pope (FR/Walnut, CA) smacked a double and scored a batter later on an error.  But that still left the Lions well short, as Simpson closed out the 9-4 win. 

The Lions scored four runs on eight hits, had two errors, and had five runners left on base.  Simpson had nine runs on 13 hits, two errors, and six runners left on base.  Gurrola had three hits to pace the lineup, with her and Morales picking up the only two RBI for VU in the contest.  Ipatzi had six Ks in five innings, giving up four runs on eight hits.  She drops to 0-1 on the season.  Vanessa Robles (FR/Fresno, CA) had one strikeout in two-thirds of an inning, with Emily Anderson (JR/Fort Collins, CO) going the final inning and a third.

What's Next? Vanguard will play Corban tomorrow for two games starting at 9:00 a.m.