LAKELAND, Fla. – Vanguard lost a pair of games to top-5 NAIA opponents at the East/West Challenge on Saturday, falling 11-1 to No. 1 Southeastern and 5-2 to No. 4 LSU Shreveport.

The Lions finished 2-2 at the loaded event, coming away with two victories against nationally ranked opponents. They defeated No. 8 St. Thomas and No. 25 Keiser on Friday.

What Happened?

Game 1 – Vanguard took on the nation's top-ranked team and defending national champion in Southeastern. The Fire supported their lofty ranking with an 11-1, seven inning victory as they hit four home runs in the game.

The Fire scored twice in the first and added a five spot in the third to jump out to a 7-1 lead off VU starter Jesus Munguia (JR/Anaheim, CA). Adonys Herrera hit a two-run homer to stake Southeastern to a 2-0 lead.

In the third, Herrera blasted his second two-run homer, scoring Isaac Nunez who had led off with a single. The Fire reeled off five straight hits in the inning, as Gary Lora followed with a double and came home on Pablo Lanzarote's RBI single.

Josh Pigozzo completed the five-run outburst with a two-run homer.

The Lions scored their lone run in the top half thanks to three Fire miscues. A pair of errors put Fred Buckson (SO/Silverdale, WA) and Tyler Gordon (FR/Orange, CA) on first and second – and both runners advanced on a passed ball. Tommy Rodriguez (SR/Yucaipa, CA) reached on a third Southeastern error, allowing Alarcon to score.

Southeastern scored a run in the fifth on a bases loaded walk.

In the seventh, Southeastern ended the game on a three-run blast by Jose Marcano off VU reliever Kyle Hoskins (SR/Tustin, CA).

Darien Smith went the distance for the Fire, allowing two hits and an unearned run in six innings. He walked one and struck out 11 for the win.

Munguia took the loss after going three innings, yielding seven hits and seven runs. He struck out two.

Game 2 – The Lions were positioned to win in their matchup with No. 4 LSU Shreveport, but a three-run eighth inning from the Pilots was the deciding factor in the 5-2 loss.

Dylan McDonald (SR/Pacifica, CA), the reigning NAIA Ball National Pitcher of the Week, took the mound for the Lions after striking out 14 in a win against Westcliff last Saturday.

The right-hander pitched respectably as he finished with a line of five hits and two runs allowed in 4.0 innings. He walked three and struck out five before turning the game over to the bullpen.

The Pilots staked themselves to a 2-0 lead in the third. They got two runners aboard on consecutive one-out singles. McDonald looked to be in good shape when he picked off Zeke Maldonado on second for the second out. But a walk to Ryan Davenport restocked Pilots at first and second, and Ryan Major followed with a run-scoring single through the left side.

Carlos Pineyro followed with an RBI double. On the play, Major attempted to score from first, but was nailed at the plate on a 9-4-2 putout.

The Lions got at least one runner aboard in each of the first four innings against LSU Shreveport starter Draven Zeigler, but to no avail. Zeigler fanned six Lions, including striking out the side in the fourth after Dane Nakatsuka (SR/Laguna Niguel, CA) led off with an infield single.

But the Lions tied the score in the fifth. A leadoff walk to Buckson chased Zeigler from the game. The Pilots called on reliever Thomas King, who promptly walked Alarcon.

With two runners on, King struck out the next two Lions. However, Tommy Rodriguez connected for a two-run double to right in the next at bat. Rodriguez tried to scamper home on Nakatsuka's infield single, but got nabbed at the plate on a solid throw from the Pilot second baseman.

The score remained knotted at 2-2 as both teams threw up zeroes for the next several innings.

Nate Madole (JR/Huntington Beach, CA) provided 3.1 innings of stellar relief for the Lions, allowing two hits and no walks with two strikeouts. He got the leadoff hitter in the eighth before VU called on Caden Byers (SO/Murrieta, CA).

Byers issued a walk to Major – and the Pilots put runners at the corners following a Pineyro single. The Pilots took a 3-2 lead as Major stole home on an error by Byers, with Pineyro taking second on the play.

Miguel Vega doubled to score Pineyro for the 4-2 lead, as Byers was lifted in favor of Toby Welty (SR/Colorado Springs, CO). Welty allowed an RBI single to Zyon Avery before escaping the inning on a foul out and pop out.

The Lions got a single from Alarcon in the ninth, but Gage Bihm allowed nothing further for his first save.

Nakatsuka finished 3-for-4, while the Lions also got hits from Rodriguez, Adam Stevens (SR/West Linn, OR), Alarcon and Gordon.

Why Is It Important?: The Lions tested themselves against four top-25 clubs in a span of two days, and proved their No. 16 preseason ranking was no fluke.

What Was Said?: "We faced probably two of the top four teams in the country today," said Head Coach Rob Pegg. "It was a great test and the experience was valuable. We're in a good spot."

What's Next?: The Lions return to Dean Harvey Field for a three-game set against Southwestern Assemblies of God (SAGU) on February 10-11. First pitch on Friday is 2:00 p.m.