SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – No. 2 seed Benedictine Mesa twice erased deficits to hand the No. 15-ranked Vanguard baseball team a 5-4 defeat in the NAIA Championship Opening Round at Russell Carr Field Monday.
The Lions (33-17) – seeded third in the Santa Barbara Bracket – led by scores of 3-0 and 4-3, but the Redhawks tied the score with three runs in the fourth and again with another tally in the eighth. Benedictine Mesa loaded the bases in the ninth – and with two outs and two strikes on Jack Fitzgerald – a wild pitch by VU reliever Jackson Webber scored Carlos Parra for the winning run.
Kyle Hoskins took the loss after allowing a pair of singles to Parra and Travis Reaves to open the ninth.
VU starter Justin Graves put forth a gutsy effort, throwing 134 pitches over 7.2 innings for the no-decision. The southpaw walked three and struck out nine, allowing seven hits and four runs against a Redhawks side that ranked 11th in the country in runs scored and eighth in batting average.
Despite jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the first, the Lions scored just once more thanks to a leadoff bomb from Oscar Diaz in the top of the eighth.
The Lions had a runner on second with no outs three times – in the second, sixth and ninth – but came up empty on each occasion against Redhawk starter Mikito Barkman or reliever Connor Coerper.
What Happened?: The Lions started fast with three runs in the first off Barkman, the California Pacific Conference Pitcher of the Year. Michael Downtain and Diaz singled, and Antonio Omphroy walked to load the bases with two outs.
With Fred Buckson at the plate, Barkman's wild pitch allowed Downtain to score the first run. Buckson then laced an opposite field single to right to plate Diaz and Omphroy.
VU pressured Barkman again to begin the second as Tyler Gordon led off with a bunt single followed by a hit by pitch to Emiliano Alarcon. A double play grounder sent Gordon to third. Downtain walked and scored second to put two runners in scoring position with two outs, but Barkman escaped with an inning-ending strikeout.
Graves put up zeroes through the first three innings, wiggling out of trouble himself in the first. Consecutive infield singles put two Redhawks aboard with no outs – and a wild pitch moved both runners up 90 feet. But Graves struck out Dylan Bangs and Jack Fitzgerald to stomp out the threat.
The Redhawks (43-12) rallied to tie the score with two outs in the fourth. Graves retired the first two Redhawks on fly outs, but walked Jack Fitzgerald and balked pinch runner Anthony Sortino to second. Three straight hits from Josh Hernandez, Tyler Butterfield and Ryan Curran knotted the score at 3-3.
Graves settled down and retired eight straight at one point, including striking out the side in the sixth and seventh. In the seventh, he fanned Butterfield before walking Curran and allowing him to reach third on a failed pickoff attempt. But Graves whiffed both Parra and Reaves to preserve the tie.
Diaz rewarded Graves by leading off the eighth with his third home run of the season, a shot to right that handed the Lions a 4-3 lead.
But in the bottom half, the Redhawks struck again with two outs. Bangs hit a double to the fence in left center, and Jack Fitzgerald hit a run-scoring single that just eluded VU's middle infield. After walking the next batter, Graves exited the game for Hoskins, who walked Butterfield to load the bases, However, Hoskins struck out Curran to prevent any further damage.
Gordon opened the ninth with a double – his second hit of the game – giving the Lions a huge opportunity to score the go-ahead run. Alarcon's bunt was fielded perfectly by Coerper, and his strike nailed Gordon on a bang-bang play at third base. The Redhawks then erased Alarcon on his attempted steal of second.
Two straight singles off Hoskins in the bottom half of the ninth brought on Webber, who got Kevin Fitzgerald to fly out to right. Parra advanced to third on the play, and the Lions elected to intentionally walk Orlando Lorduy to load the bases. Webber fought back and struck out Bangs for the second out, but his pitch to the backstop with Jack Fitzgerald at the plate allowed Parra to race home for the winning run.
Diaz and Gordon led the VU offense with two hits apiece. Dane Nakatsuka, Downtain, Omphroy and Buckson had the other four hits. Omphroy's leadoff double in the sixth unfortunately did not produce any runs.
Hoskins fell to 2-2 with the loss. Coerper moved to 5-1 on the season with the win.
Why Is It Important?: The Lions fall into the loser's bracket with no room for error, needing to win five straight games to book a ticket to the NAIA World Series.
What Was Said?: "Graves gave us a gritty effort and all he had out there on the mound," said Head Coach Rob Pegg. "We had great opportunities to score additional runs, but you can't come up empty three times with runners on second and no outs. We've got to come out better with our plate discipline."
What's Next?: The Lions play fifth-seeded Antelope Valley in an elimination game on Tuesday at 12:30 p.m.
