SURPRISE, Ariz. – Vanguard swept its second straight Golden State Athletic Conference baseball series, defeating OUAZ 7-2 in game one of a Saturday doubleheader.
The Lions lost the nightcap, 4-3, in a designated nonconference game.
Dylan McDonald pitched six solid innings to improve to 4-2 on the season. All of the scoring occurred in the fourth inning when the Lions plopped down a seven-spot on the Spirit. OUAZ replied with two runs in the bottom half, but the pitching produced zeroes the rest of the way.
VU scored one run in the first and two more in the second in game two, but succumbed to a three-run OUAZ sixth inning. All three runs charged to reliever Nate Madole were unearned as the Lions committed a pair of errors in the inning.
Tyler Gordon went 3-for-4 with a run scored in game one.
VU has now won six straight GSAC games after sweeping Jessup last week as well. The Lions are now 24-12 overall and 11-7 in conference action. OUAZ fell to 13-20-1 and 5-12-1 in league play.
What Happened?
Game 1 – The game started out as an old fashioned pitcher's duel with McDonald going up against OUAZ cohort Evan Massie.
McDonald faced a perilous situation in the first with two men on and one out, but he induced a double play grounder to end the inning. The Spirit threatened again in the second, getting two aboard with two outs, but McDonald forced a comebacker to escape unscathed.
Massie retired six of the first seven Lions, allowing his only baserunner via a hit by pitch to Antonio Omphroy in the second. The Lions mustered a pair of singles in the third, but stranded the runners due to a caught stealing and a inning-ending strikeout.
The game opened up in the fourth with nine combined runs, including a seven-run outburst from the Lions.
Massie encountered massive trouble by walking the first two hitters and plunking Fred Buckson to load the bases. Adam Stevens scored the first run on a passed ball. Christopher Famolaro followed with an RBI single to score Antonio Omphroy.
The Lions reloaded the bases later in the inning, and Luke Arias made the score 3-0 on a line drive to center. Dane Nakatsuka and Michael Downtain drew back-to-back bases loaded walks to plate two more, forcing Massie from the game in favor of Deon Reese.
Reese also had difficulty locating the strike zone as he promptly walked Stevens, forcing in pinch runner Aaron Zubiate for the sixth run. The Lions completed the scoring on a base hit from Omphroy.
Massie was charged with all seven runs in his 3.1 innings of work. He allowed five hits, walked four and hit two batters.
McDonald allowed a pair of runs on three hits and a walk in the bottom half. He issued a free pass to leadoff hitter Sergio Alfaro. Justin Brodt doubled pinch runner Hayden Ambuehl to third, and Gabriel DeJesus followed with a run-scoring single. OUAZ chopped the deficit to 7-2 when Jacob Griffin singled to right field to score Brodt.
McDonald retired six of the final seven hitters before leaving the game. He lasted six innings, yielding five hits and two runs while walking four and striking out three.
Jackson Webber mopped up and pitched fabulously, scattering just four hits over three scoreless innings.
OUAZ relievers Reese and Luke Tedrick quieted the VU bats the rest of the way, with Tedrick tossing 4.2 innings of scoreless ball.
Six Lions combined for 10 hits, with multiple-hit efforts coming from Gordon, Arias and Omphroy.
Game 2 – The Lions scored an early run on an Alarcon RBI triple.
Jesus Munguia pitched well for the Lions as he allowed just one run in four innings of work.
The Spirit scored three runs in the sixth to spur the victory, aided by a pair of Lion errors. OUAZ got Tarver on second via an error to lead off the inning. DeJesus singled and Tarver beat the throw for the first run.
Griffin singled to put two runners on, and Henriadam Brower produced OUAZ's third straight single to knock Madole out of the game. The base hit scored DeJesus as OUAZ tied the score at 3-3.
Kyle Hoskins entered in relief for the Lions and did his job getting a ground ball from Ambuehl, but a Lion error enabled Griffin to score for the winning run.
The Lions got a one-out single from Alarcon in the seventh, but OUAZ pitcher Kapono Rawlins wrapped up three solid innings of relief by getting the next two hitters to end the game. Rawlins earned the win after allowing just three hits and striking out two.
Madole took the loss for VU to drop to 2-1 on the season.
Why Is It Important?: The Lions return home from Arizona a season-high 12 games above .500.
What Was Said?: "These last two weeks have been very important to us in being able to right the ship," said Head Coach Rob Pegg. "It sets us up well to have a strong finish to the regular season."
What's Next?: The Lions host Redlands for a single game on Tuesday, April 4 at 2:30 p.m.
