IRVINE, Calif. – Adrian Santa Cruz threw seven solid innings and a three-run second inning held up for Arizona Christian, as the Firestorm defeated Vanguard 5-2 at the Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament on Tuesday at the OC Great Park.
The loss eliminated the Lions from the tournament as they fell to 33-16 overall. The Firestorm improved to 28-23, and they will play The Master's in another elimination game tonight at 6:00 p.m.
The Lions struck out 10 times against two Firestorm pitchers, including eight by Santa Cruz. VU also was 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
Justin Graves kept the Lions close as his mound stint lasted six innings. The southpaw yielded six hits and three runs, and he worked around six walks while striking out six.
The Firestorm picked up a critical insurance run in both the seventh and eighth innings to give breathing room to closer Riley Quinton, who tossed two innings of one-hit ball for his fifth save.
What Happened?: The Lions dented the scoreboard first with a run in the first off Santa Cruz, who ended up throwing 127 pitches for the game.
Tommy Rodriguez drew a two-out walk and stole second. Following another walk to Oscar Diaz, Adam Stevens laced an opposite field single to score VU's first run. The Lions had an opportunity for more damage with two runners aboard, but Santa Maria wiggled out of the jam with a strikeout.
Joe Terlizzi tied the game in the second with a leadoff home run. The Firestorm then sandwiched a pair of walks off Graves around a bunt single from Griffin Swan. Graves struck out the next two batters, but Marques Titialii fought off several pitches in the next at-bat, eventually winning the battle with a two-RBI single to center.
Graves retired eight of nine ACU hitters from the third through fifth innings. Unfortunately, Santa Maria was equally as stingy as he sat down 10 of 11 VU hitters going into the fifth.
Santa Maria allowed a leadoff single to Antonio Omphroy to start the fifth, but Santa Maria used a strikeout and an inning-ending double play to keep the Lions off the scoreboard.
With Santa Maria's pitch count climbing, the Lions sliced the deficit in half with a run in the seventh. Singles from Tyler Gordon and Antonio Omphroy put runners at the corners with one out. Pinch hitter Marco Lopez reached on a fielder's choice as an attempted force out at second was dropped by the ACU shortstop. The error had VU in business with two runners on. Dane Nakatsuka's grounder moved them up to second and third, but Michael Downtain grounded out to end the threat.
Titialii nearly single-handedly grabbed the run back for ACU in the bottom of the seventh. He drew a leadoff walk off VU reliever Kyle Hoskins, then stole second and third. Pinch hitter Andrew Ivy lined out hard to left and Titialii scored on the sacrifice fly.
Diaz doubled with one out in the eighth and reached third following a Stevens fly out, but another strikeout quashed that scoring opportunity.
The Firestorm took advantage of a leadoff double from Sean Garcia in the bottom half, with pinch runner Brandon Lees eventually coming home on a Daniel Durazo single.
Quinton allowed a one-out walk in the ninth, but otherwise was unpressured as he closed out the game.
Diaz finished 2-for-2 to lead the Lion offense. Omphroy also had a two-hit performance, and Stevens and Gordon each had one hit.
The top of the VU order finished 0-for-12. Titialii finished 1-for-3 with two RBI for the Firestorm.
Santa Cruz picked up the win to improve to 4-3 on the year. The right-hander allowed five hits and two runs while walking three and striking out eight. Graves dropped to 5-2.
Why Is It Important?: The Lions have lost four of their last six games.
What's Next: VU awaits the NAIA Selection Show to find out if it received an at-large berth into the postseason tournament. The announcement will take place on Thursday, May 11 at 2:00 p.m. PT on the NAIA YouTube Channel.
