COSTA MESA -- Facing the other Arizona team in the Golden State Athletic Conference, Vanguard softball did not do enough to upend the Arizona Christian Firestorm on Saturday. ACU swept the doubleheader, winning 5-4 and 7-1 to improve to 31-15 overall and 13-9 in the Golden State Athletic Conference. VU falls to 22-24 overall and 11-11 in the conference. The Firestorm are now locked in to be the second seed in the GSAC Tournament, with Hope International taking the regular season title today.
What Happened? Kaylie Williams got the offense on the board against Savannah Smith in the opening game, as after a walk to
Karly Colenzo, the catcher launched her ninth home run of the season over the right-center field fence to put VU up 2-0 in the bottom of the first.
Brianna Williams got the nod for the Lions and the VU ace would keep the Firestorm at bay through five innings, giving up only three hits over that span.
The bottom of the fifth saw the Blue and Gold tag on an extra run, as
Andrea Connor started the frame off with a single up the middle. She soon got to second on a sac bunt and then to third on a past ball, as
Noni Chaves stood at the plate. The VU center fielder brought Connor home on a fly out to right, as the Lions took a 3-0 lead into the top of the sixth.
However, Williams found herself in deep waters quite rapidly, as the Firestorm loaded the bases with a single and a pair of walks. An error on a ground ball made it 3-1 and another bad throw on the next grounder brought home two more, with the runners ending up at first and third. A single then cashed in two more, as ACU flipped the scoreboard to a 5-3 lead in their favor.
Brianna Williams hit first in the bottom of the seventh and got a single, with
Megan Ireland pinch-running for her.
Lexi Rolin also singled, pushing Ireland to third, as the VU faithful started to feel some magic brewing.
Emma Noble would bring in Ireland with a sac fly to cut the gap to 5-4,but the Firestorm got the final out to hang on for the one-run victory.
ACU scored five runs on six hits and left five on base. VU scored four runs on five hits, had two errors, and left three on base.
Brianna Williams struck out and walked two hitters and was charged for two of the five runs she allowed. She drops to 13-9 overall, while Smith improves to 19-11. The starter also had two hits from the plate to pace the lineup.
LeeAnne Miranda went to the circle to start game two for VU and she saw the Firestorm jump ahead 1-0 in the top of the first. A leadoff single was followed by another base knock to put runners at the corners. Colenzo then threw out the trailing runner as she tried to steal second, but the ACU player at third came home to score, putting the visitors on top. Miranda got the next two outs to end the frame and though it took two innings, VU did return the game to level pegging.
Aeri Corral smacked a one-out single against Trinity Lawson and got to second on a ground out.
Kaylie Williams then thumped a single off of the ACU third baseman down the line, allowing Corral to score and knot the game at 1-1.
However, things would fall apart for VU in the top of the sixth. The Firestorm got a pair of singles to open the period, but Miranda responded by getting two huge outs. Unfortunately, two-straight errors allowed a trio of runs to cross the plate for the Firestorm, putting Arizona Christian up 4-1. Miranda got a strikeout to retire the side, but doors had not been completely closed on ACU.
The Firestorm picked up three more runs in the top of the seventh to go up 7-1.
Kaylee DeMaio got a leadoff single for the Blue and Gold in the home half to the frame and the team would eventually get two runners on base, but the Lions would not score a run, falling 7-1.
ACU clocked seven runs on six hits, leaving three on base. Vanguard scored one run on five hits, committed four errors, and left five on base. Miranda drops to 5-4 on the year and she racked up 6 Ks in the ball game. Lawson goes to 10-4 on the year.
Why is it Important? The Lions are now 24-17 against ACU all-time. With the results around the diamonds, VU is currently tied with Menlo in terms of GSAC record, though VU took three of four games against the Oaks this year. The Lions need to win one game against Hope or trust ACU to sweep OUAZ to make the conference tournament.
What's Next? The Lions will take on the GSAC regular-season champion Hope Royals on Tuesday, starting at 11:00 a.m.
