FULLERTON, Calif. – The Vanguard baseball team returned for a pair of games on Saturday against the Hope International Royals.  The first game, a seven-inning affair, concluded the Golden State Athletic Conference series between the two, with the fourth game counting just for both teams' overall records.  The Lions faltered in the first game, falling 7-3, and despite a late surge in game two, VU lost 7-6.  The losses drop Vanguard to 15-6 overall and 3-3 in GSAC play, as HIU improves to 16-4 overall and 6-2 in the conference.

Game 1

Dylan McDonald (SR/Pacifica, CA) squared off against Matthew Pinal on the mound and both did not allow a run in the first.  After leaving two runners on base in the top of the first, VU cashed in two runs to take an early lead in the top of the second.  Michael Downtain (JR/Menifee, CA) collected a double to left and Luke Arias (SR/Spring Valley, CA) would blast another double, this time down the right field line, to bring him in.  Tyler Gordon (FR/Orange, CA) then poked a single through to center to bring Arias home, staking a 2-0 lead for the Blue and Gold.

HIU got one back in the bottom of the third, as an error and a single made it a 2-1 Vanguard lead.  The Royals then captured a lead behind a three-run home run in the bottom of the fourth, as Pinal helped his own cause by launching the homer to give his side a 4-2 advantage. 

VU and Hope traded runs in the fifth, with Tommy Rodriguez (SR/Yucaipa, CA) starting things off with a double.  Rodriguez stole third and Adam Stevens (SR/West Linn, OR) brought him home on a ground out to cut the gap to 4-3.  But another home run for HIU gave the home side a 5-3 lead after the conclusion of the fifth frame.

The Royals scratched two more runs across in the home half of the sixth and Jake Lachemann closed out the game for Hope, giving the hosts a 7-3 victory.

The Lions scored three runs on six hits, had three errors, and left five on base.  HIU had seven runs on five hits and two runners left on base.  Stevens had two hits to lead the Lions in game one.  McDonald falls to 2-1 on the season after going five innings and fanning two.  Pinal goes to 3-0 and picked up four Ks in four innings of work.  Lachemann threw the final three frames and struck out five hitters while surrendering only two hits.

Game 2

With the GSAC series going to the Royals 2-1, VU tried to level the overall series in the final game.  The two sides ran out of steam on the pitching side and the offenses shined in the second contest, with 22 combined hits and 13 total runs. 

Seth Hoetker was touched for two runs in the top of the first, as Vanguard benefited from a leadoff double by Gordon and a single from Rodriguez.  Oscar Diaz (JR/Los Angeles, CA) then slapped a single to right, bringing in both Gordon and Rodriguez.  VU ended up loading the bases but unfortunately, Hoetker got the third out to keep the damage to a minimum. 

Jesus Munguia (JR/Anaheim, CA) struggled himself in the first, as a double and a home run had the game knotted at 2-2 after two batters.  A double and two singles brought in two more HIU runs to give the Royals a 4-2 lead after the first frame.

Vanguard turned to Jackson Webber (SR/Bothell, WA) in the second and he recorded three straight outs. with the scoring drying up in the third and fourth frames for both squads.

The Royals got the scoring going again as they had a batter get hit by a pitch with one out in the bottom of the fifth.  A stolen base, a wild pitch, and a balk brought him in to make the advantage 5-2.  The Blue and Gold would strike back in the top of the sixth with back-to-back jacks, as Downtain launched his first home run of the year and Fred Buckson (SO/Silverdale, WA) followed that up with his fourth of the season.

Now ahead 5-4, Hope recorded another run in the bottom of the sixth to bump the lead to 6-4.  The Lions would again rally in the seventh, as a Rodriguez triple to the right-field corner started off the inning and Stevens scored him on a single two batters later.  However, the Royals would negate that run with one of their own in the bottom half, as a sac-fly put the HIU lead at 7-5.

Both sides were silent in the eighth offensively but the Lions made things interesting in the top of the ninth.  Marco Lopez (FR/Torrance, CA) walloped his first home run of his VU career with one out to slice the gap to 7-6.  Antonio Omphroy (SR/Honolulu, HI) got a two-out single but Steven Ordorica slammed the door with out number three to pick up the save, as HIU won 7-6.

Vanguard scored six runs on 12 hits, had two errors, and stranded 10 runners on the base paths.  HIU had seven runs on 10 hits and eight runners left aboard.  Munguia drops to 2-2 on the season, as he gave up the first four runs of the contest and VU never tied the game.  Tyler Tilton picks up the win in relief for the Royals, as he goes to 1-0.  Ordorica nabbed his fourth save of the season.

Gordon was 3-for-5 in the game, as was Rodriguez, as both led the Lions in hits in the ball game.  Five VU players had one RBI in the contest and no pitcher for VU threw more than two innings.

What's Next? A Tuesday showdown with the Pioneers of Antelope Valley, who were receiving votes in the last NAIA poll.  First pitch is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.