GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Vanguard baseball suffered a setback Saturday in the desert, as the Arizona Christian Firestorm completed the Golden State Athletic Conference series sweep. The Lions led for most of the first game but lost 9-8 after ACU scored three runs over the eighth and ninth innings. The squad then could not generate enough from the plate to overcome the Firestorm in a 4-1 defeat in the second contest. The Lions drop to 13-8 overall and 3-5 in GSAC action, while ACU goes to 12-8 overall and 6-3 in the conference.
While the Lions scored six runs via the deep ball out of nine tallied over the two games, the squad left 15 runners on base and struck out 22 times over the course of Saturday's twin bill, hampering the offense.
What Happened? Vanguard dropped three runs on the Firestorm in the top of the first in game one, with
Corey Jarrell leading off with a single.
Michael Downtain produced his own single to put two on base and
Antonio Omphroy pushed the duo to second and third with a sacrifice fly.
Oscar Diaz was hit by a pitch to juice the bases and that brought
Tevis Payne to the dish. He rewarded the Blue and Gold by launching a double to right field to bring in both Jarrell and Downtain. Diaz got to third on the play and
Jarred Mazzaferro was hit by a pitch to load the bases again, with
Steven Casas getting an RBI as he took a walk to make it 3-0.
Quincy Vassar was the starter for VU and though he gave up a home run in the bottom of the first, he soon retired the Firestorm to keep them from scoring again. Both sides went down in order in the second but the Firestorm swiped a run in the bottom of the third, as the hosts made it 3-2 after a single and a double.
However, the Blue and Gold returned to form in the top of the fifth, as
Nino Vultaggio singled and Diaz got hit by a pitch to put two on with two out. Payne was the next hitter and the catcher delivered the goods again as he blasted a deep home run over the left-field corner to establish a 6-2 lead.
But the road got bumpy in the bottom half of the frame, as the Firestorm leveled the score at 6-6. A pair of singles to lead off the inning brought
Jacob Dahlstrom to the bump, but he could not halt the advance, as a single and a home run made it 6-6.
Yet the deep ball also favored the Lions, as after
Evan Avitia took a walk, Jarrell demolished a ball over the left field fence to re-establish an 8-6 VU advantage.
Dahlstrom held the Firestorm in check for two innings, but the hosts tied the game yet again in the bottom of the eighth, as ACU used a walk, a single, and a sac fly to make it 8-8. The Lions got two runners on base in the top of the ninth, but the strikeout bug from yesterday bit again, as VU left both runners aboard.
Jase Schueller tried to move the game to the 10th but ACU loaded up the bases with a single, a walk, and a hit batter. Schueller countered with a strikeout but he then walked the next batter, as ACU escaped with a 9-8 win.
The Firestorm scored nine runs on 11 hits, had two errors, and stranded four runners on the base paths. VU tallied eight runs on eight hits, had one error, and left nine runners on base. Jarrell went 3-for-4 and Payne recorded five RBI. Dahlstrom had six strikeouts to lead the Lions, while Schueller falls to 2-1 on the season.
The second game witnessed Jackson Hohensee face
Dylan McDonald and two kept the bats at bay through one inning. The Firestorm got on the scoreboard with a home run in the bottom of the second to take a 1-0 edge. The offenses could not generate much over the next few frames, but it was ACU that jumped on the board again in the bottom of the fourth. Back-to-back doubles increased the home side's lead to 2-0, but the Lions found a response in the top of the fifth.
Diaz clobbered a solo shot in the top of the fifth to cut the lead in half, but that would be the only run the Blue and Gold could give McDonald. The Firestorm racked up two more runs in the bottom of the fifth to take a 4-1 lead, though VU tried to rally in the top of the seventh.
Diaz reached on an error and
Noah Madole singled to put two runners aboard.
Fred Buckson took a walk to load up the bases, but ACU got the third out to win 4-1.
ACU had four runs on seven hits, one error, and five runners left aboard. VU had one run on six hits and stranded six runners aboard. Diaz, Jarrell, Vultaggio, and Madole each had one hit.
Abe Hernandez had a quality game with two knocks in three at-bats.
McDonald drops to 2-1 but ended with five Ks. Hohensee had 11 strikeouts and improved to 2-2.
Why is it Important? Vanguard has now dropped the past four games to ACU and five of the past six games. The Lions are now 31-17 all-time against ACU and are now fifth in the standings.
What's Next? Vanguard has a non-conference game against Redlands next week at 2:00 p.m. on the road.
