COSTA MESA – Justin Graves (SR/Irvine, CA) became Vanguard's all-time wins leader to highlight a successful day on the diamond as Vanguard baseball swept Jessup by scores of 6-4 and 12-6 on Friday at Dean Harvey Field.

Graves earned his 25th career victory in the second game of the twinbill, separating from Sean Isaac, who won 24 games from 2015-16.

The Lions piled up 12 hits and got Graves all the run support he needed with seven runs over the first two innings. Fred Buckson (SO/Silverdale, WA) went 4-for-4 while Dane Nakatsuka (SR/Laguna Niguel, CA) and Michael Downtain (JR/Menifee, CA) also had two hits apiece.

In game one, Jacob Dahlstrom (JR/Renton, WA) struck out a career-high 11 batters as the Lions held off a late charge from the Warriors. He pitched 7.1 innings, allowing four hits and three runs (two earned) and working around five walks and a hit batter.

Vanguard used the same formula for victory in game one. The Lions put pressure on Jessup with three runs in the first and a single run in the second to sprint out to a 4-0 lead. VU benefitted from a pair of Jessup errors in the first to build the early cushion. Jessup scored three runs over the final two innings to provide late drama, but Nate Madole (JR/Huntington Beach, CA) extinguished the comeback for his second save.

Nakatsuka finished 4-for-6 with four runs scored and two RBI in the doubleheader.

What Happened?

Game 1 – Vanguard pressured Jessup starter Trevor Arnston in the first as a pair of Warrior errors helped the Blue and Gold cause. The Lions got two runners aboard for Adam Stevens (SR/West Linn, OR), who laid down a solid bunt. The Jessup third baseman committed his second error of the inning on the throw, allowing Dane Nakatsuka to score from second for the 1-0 lead.

Oscar Diaz (JR/Los Angeles, CA) followed with a opposite field single to cash in Michael Downtain. Later in the inning, Marco Lopez (FR/Torrance, CA) had an RBI groundout as VU opened up the three-run advantage.

Nakatsuka and Downtain reached via walk and hit by pitch in the second, respectively. The two advanced 90 feet on an Arnston wild pitch, and Stevens delivered a sacrifice fly as VU went up 4-0.

Dahlstrom struck out four and allowed just one hit and a pair of walks through the first three innings. The Warriors mounted their first rally in the fourth as consecutive singles by Brandon Springer and Chris Lopez greeted Dahlstrom to open the fourth.

On the Lopez single, Springer sprinted home all the way from first as the ball got away from the VU right fielder. Dahlstrom limited the scoring to one unearned run as he retired the next three Warriors with a pair of fly balls and a strikeout.

Leading 4-1, the Lions stretched their lead back to four with a run in the bottom half. Emiliano Alarcon (SO/Monmouth, OR) got hit by a pitch and Nakatsuka laced a double down the right field line. Arnston uncorked another wild pitch to score Alarcon.

The Lions picked up an insurance run in the sixth on a Nakatsuka RBI single to lead 6-1.

Meanwhile, Dahlstrom rolled through the middle innings sitting down 11 straight Warriors at one point. He finally ran into trouble in the eighth as Jessup loaded the bases on a pair of walks and hit by pitch. After 106 pitches, Dahlstrom was lifted in favor of Kyle Hoskins (SR/Tustin, CA), who gave up a two-RBI single to Kevin Gutierrez.

With runners at the corners, Luke Arias (SR/Spring Valley, CA) had a key play as he nailed Gutierrez on an attempted steal of second. Hoskins then fanned Rhys DeHighden to end the inning.

Hoskins began the ninth and allowed a leadoff single to Kayde Iranon. The Lions ushered in Madole, who hit Nate Van Patten to bring the tying run to the plate. Brennan Rozell hit a double play grounder to third. The Lions got the force play at second, but a wild throw on the turn to first got away and Iranon scored to reduce the deficit to 6-4.

But Madole calmly restored order, getting Chris Cook to ground out and Jaisten Cabatbat to strikeout to end the game.

Game 2 – Graves took the hill looking for career victory No. 25. The record breaking win had eluded him in his four previous starts – three of them quality ones.

The Warriors scratched out a run in the first as Graves hit Rozell with a pitch to begin the game. The southpaw retired the next two batters on groundouts, and looked to escape the inning on a routine grounder to third by Springer. But a bobbled ball extended the inning, and Lopez capitalized with a single to right center as the unearned run gave Jessup a 1-0 lead.

The Lions wasted no time responding, erupting for five runs in the bottom half. VU loaded the bases with no outs off Jessup starter Max Moreno. Cabatbat fielded Diaz's grounder and stepped on second for the force play, but a wild relay throw to first bounced away, allowing Nakatsuka and Downtain to score.

Later in the frame, Buckson cranked out an RBI double and Christopher Famolaro (SO/San Diego, CA) followed with a 2-RBI single as the Lions padded their lead to 5-1.

The Lions widened their lead to 7-1 with three straight hits to open the second. Stevens smacked a double down the right field line to plate Nakatsuka, and Antonio Omphroy (SR/Honolulu, HI) scored Downtain on a sacrifice fly.

Graves had a stretch where he struck out five of seven Warriors, including the side in the third.

He allowed a solo home run to Lopez to begin the fourth. Two singles by Gutierrez and Iranon put runners at the corners, and an RBI groundout from Nick Kasparian cut the deficit to 7-3. Rozell singled to bring in a third run, but Graves picked him off to squash the rally.

VU put the game away with a five-run uprising in the bottom half. The Warriors turned to their bullpen, and Jason Riviello issued two walks and hit a batter to load the bases for Alarcon. The VU shortstop scored Caleb Severson (JR/Goleta, CA) on a sac fly for the first run.

Caleb Markwith replaced Riviello on the mound, and allowed a single to Buckson to fill the bags with Lions again. Famolaro drew a bases loaded free pass to score pinch runner Trenton Lowe (FR/Puyallup, WA) as VU extended the lead to 9-4. Arias drilled a double to left center to score two more Lions, and Nakatsuka's sac fly completed the scoring.

With a 12-4 lead, Graves had the game in hand. Jessup managed to load the bases in the fifth, sandwiching a pair of singles around a walk. Graves then hit Gutierrez with a pitch to bring in Cabatbat, but he induced DeHighden into a 6-4-3 double play to stomp out the rally.

Jessup scored one more run in the seventh off VU reliever Toby Welty (SR/Colorado Springs, CO) to close out the scoring.

Graves improved to 2-1 on the year as he went 6.0 innings, yielding seven hits and five runs (four earned) while walking one and striking out five. Moreno fell to 4-2 as he allowed seven runs (three earned) in three innings of work.

Why Is It Important?: The Lions erased the bad taste of getting swept by Westmont the previous weekend, improving to 19-11 overall and getting back to .500 in Golden State Athletic Conference play at 7-7. The 18 runs scored in the doubleheader represented the most in back-to-back games since early February.

What Was Said?: "Proud of Justin for getting the record," said Head Coach Rob Pegg. "He got the monkey off his back. We earned a couple of much needed wins and hope we can keep the momentum going tomorrow."

What's Next?: The Lions and Warriors play another doubleheader on Saturday. The 11:00 a.m. game counts in the GSAC standings and will be nine innings. A seven-inning nonconference contest will follow.