Box Score COSTA MESA – No. 10 Hope International used a four-run sixth inning to earn an 8-4 victory over Vanguard in the opener of a four-game Golden State Athletic Conference baseball series on Thursday at Dean Harvey Field.
Recent rainy weather necessitated the game be moved from HIU's Duane Winters Field to VU. The Lions were the designated road team. The remaining three games of the series will move back to HIU on Friday and Saturday.
The 16th-ranked Lions committed three of their five errors in the sixth as the Royals doubled their lead to 8-0. VU put on a furious four-run rally in the ninth that culminated in a three-run blast off the bat of Tommy Rodriguez (SR/Yucaipa, CA).
HIU starter Hector Garcia shutout the Lions on two hits over five innings, striking out nine to pick up the win. VU's Justin Graves (SR/Irvine, CA) lasted 5.1 innings, allowing all eight runs (six earned) and fanning seven. He fell to 1-1 on the season.
Rodriguez finished 3-for-5 while Oscar Diaz (JR/Los Angeles, CA), Emiliano Alarcon (SO/Monmouth, OR) and Tyler Gordon (FR/Orange, CA) picked up the remaining hits for the VU offense. Max Jung-Goldberg went 2-for-4 to lead the Royals.
The Lions are now 14-4 overall and 2-2 in the GSAC. HIU is 14-3 and 5-1 in conference play.
What Happened?:Â Graves and Garcia traded zeroes over the first three innings as the two aces locked in for what looked like a classic pitcher's duel. The Royals had runners at the corners in the first, but Graves reared back to strike out Robert Mattei to quash that threat.
The southpaw had retired seven straight before yielding a leadoff single to Aaron Orozco in the bottom of the fourth. Orozco advanced to third on a wild pitch and ground out before coming home on a Mattei grounder for a 1-0 lead.
The Royals added three runs in the fifth to go up 4-0. Mathew Dorado doubled home the first run as Junior Coleman, who led off with a walk and was sacrificed to second, came around to score. David Rivera followed with a two-run home run to right.
The Lions had opportunities, putting a runner in scoring position in each of the first six innings, but Royals pitching ended the threat on a strikeout in five of those instances.
HIU took advantage by opening the floodgates in the sixth. With Jung-Goldberg on second with one out, a Graves throwing error at first base allowed the first run to score as the Royals led 5-0.
In the next at bat, Graves struck out Coleman, but he reached first on an error by the VU catcher as HIU now had runners at the corners. The Royals tacked on another run on a bunt single from Derek Sims. The final two runs scored on an error by the VU second baseman and a steal of home by Sims.
The Royals chased Graves with one out in the sixth. Quincy Vassar (SR/Brewster, WA) entered for the Lions and threw 2.2 innings of scoreless relief, not allowing a hit and striking out two.
The HIU bullpen set down nine straight Lions before the VU offense came to life in the ninth.
Diaz led off with a single and advanced to second on a wild pitch with one out. With two outs, Alarcon's infield single enabled Diaz to score for VU's first run. Gordon got aboard on another single, and Rodriguez took Noah Stevens deep for a three-run bomb.
Justin Drury entered for the Royals and got the final out on a grounder to short.
Why Is It Important?:Â The Lions have committed nine errors over their last two games. VU had just 13 errors through its first 16 contests.
What's Next?:Â The Lions and Royals play game two on Friday at 2:00 p.m. in Fullerton.
