COSTA MESA – Vanguard locked horns in the opener of a crucial three-game Golden State Athletic Conference baseball series against No. 19 OUAZ on Friday – and despite raising the collective blood pressure of the Blue and Gold faithful – escaped with a 15-14 victory thanks to a walkoff RBI single by Christopher Famolaro in the 11th inning.
The game lasted four hours and featured a combined 29 runs, 36 hits, 15 walks, five hit by pitches, seven errors and five home runs, including a single-game season-high four by the Lions.
The Lions appeared to be in cruise control with a 14-6 lead entering the ninth inning, the notion of getting three more outs an afterthought, a proverbial piece of cake.
Except someone must have tainted the flour or the frosting, as the Spirit erupted for eight runs to tie the score at 14-14, leaving the gray jersey-clad home team dumbfounded.
But with daylight fading and the prospects of resuming the game on Saturday morning looking more realistic by the minute, the Lions scratched out a run in the 11th thanks to a single, OUAZ error and Famolaro's game-winning knock to left field.
The Lions battered OUAZ starting pitcher Trey Trimble for three home runs, including the first career two dinger game for shortstop Fred Buckson. Buckson emphatically ended an 0-for-14 slump with back-to-back moonshots in the fifth and sixth innings, with his first one climbing three-fourths of the way up the left field netting. He finished 4-for-4 with three runs scored and five RBI while also walking twice.
VU banged out a season-best 20 hits, with six players enjoying multiple-hit efforts. In addition to Buckson, Jarred Mazzaferro finished 4-for-4 with two hit by pitches, three runs scored and two RBI. Levi Hall had three hits, and Nino Vultaggio and Famolaro chipped in two apiece. Tevis Payne, who is batting .434 (10-for-23) over his last six appearances, hit leadoff for the Lions and finished 3-for-6 with an RBI.
Hall hit his first home run as a Lion in the second and Vultaggio cranked his team-leading fifth in the third.
Jackson Webber and Jase Schueller had outstanding performances out of the bullpen. Webber was a calming force after OUAZ utilized a five-run sixth to tie the score at 6-6. He tossed 2.1 innings of scoreless three-hit ball before leaving with the 14-6 lead. Schueller got the Lions out of the nightmarish ninth as the Spirit had scored their eight runs off of three other VU relievers. The right-hander hurled 2.2 innings without allowing a hit to get the win and improve to 3-1.
Creighton Silvain (1-2) took the loss as the eighth OUAZ pitcher. He went 2.1 innings, giving up a pair of hits, walking two and striking out three.
The Lions improved to 19-9 overall and 7-6 in the GSAC. The Spirit fell to 19-8 and 6-7 in conference play.
What Happened?
The Lions widened their lead to 14-6 with a five-run eighth, pecking OUAZ relievers Peyton Little, Nate Naccarato and Luke Tedrick for five singles, a walk and a hit by pitch. Mazzaferro, Hall, Payne and Vultaggio all had run-scoring hits, and Evan Avitia drew a pinch hit bases-loaded walk to drive in the other run.
But the Spirit would not go quietly, getting a leadoff homer in the ninth from Joey Winters. Nathan Tarver and Christian Powell hit back-to-back singles, and a VU throwing error scored Tarver as the Lions attempted to start a double play on Daniel Durazo's grounder.
Pablo Small entered in place of Jesus Barreto. The Spirit loaded the bases on a Sergio Alfaro walk before pinch hitter Nick Fratantoni struck out for the first out of the inning. But a bases loaded walk and two consecutive singles brought in four more runs as OUAZ cut the deficit to 14-12.
The Lions called on southpaw Quincy Vassar to extinguish the flames, but Winters, who started the chaos with the leadoff homer, singled to right field to bring around Matthew Carter.
Schueller entered and got Powell to fly out to right, with Nick Lustig scoring from third to tie the score at 14-14. After Durazo was intentionally walked to load the bases, Schueller dug down to get Alfaro on an inning-ending fly out to right.
The two teams traded zeroes for just the third time all afternoon in the 10th, while Schueller set the Spirit down in order in the 11th. He retired the final six batters he faced.
Mazzaferro roped a single to start the bottom half of the 11th, and Steven Casas reached on a fielding error by the OUAZ shortstop with one out. Famolaro singled sharply to left to score Mazzaferro with the winning run.
Vanguard built a 6-1 lead after five innings with almost exclusive use of the long ball, getting a two-run homer from Hall, a solo blast from Vultaggio and Buckson's two-run rocket.
VU starter Spencer Edmondson struck out five Spirit through the first three innings and held OUAZ to just one run through five. He allowed just one walk through the first four frames.
But he began to show signs of fatigue after walking two in the fifth. He walked three more in the sixth, leading to OUAZ's five-run rally. The Spirit did their damage on a bases-loaded walk, a sac fly, a wild pitch and a two-RBI single from Winters, who had a gargantuan game going 5-for-7 with four RBI.
The Lions retook the lead with a powerful swing from the bat of Buckson, who hit a three-run shot in the bottom half of the sixth to score Oscar Diaz and Vultaggio – both of whom had walked.
Why Is It Important?: Nine of VU's final 12 GSAC games are against ranked opponents. The Lions avoided near disaster after surrendering the eight-run inning – the most runs by any opponent in an inning this season.
What's Next?: VU hosts OUAZ for a doubleheader on Saturday, beginning at 11:00 a.m. at Dean Harvey Field.
