COSTA MESA – Vanguard baseball maintained its lead over The Master's for the fifth and final spot in the upcoming Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament, earning a split of Saturday's doubleheader at Dean Harvey Field.
The Lions bombarded the Mustangs with nine runs in the first inning to produce a 10-3 victory in game one. The VU bullpen coughed up a late inning lead to drop a 4-3 decision in game two.
It was the fifth time this season that the Lions failed to hold a lead going into the seventh inning or later.
Outfielder Nino Vultaggio was the hitting star for the Blue and Gold, going 5-for-9 for the doubleheader. Oscar Diaz, Abe Hernandez and Antonio Omphroy all had multiple-hit efforts in game one to lead an 11-hit attack.
In game two, VU's offense was held in check by TMU starter J.T. Friesen until a three-run rally in the sixth. Corey Jarrell had one of his two hits to aid the comeback, the only player besides Vultaggio with multiple knocks. Levi Hall also had a clutch two-RBI single to give the Lions a 3-2 lead going into the top of the seventh.
But VU could not shut the door as the Mustangs scored twice in the seventh.
VU got strong outings from both starting pitchers. Jacob Dahlstrom tossed 7.0 solid innings with a season-high 10 strikeouts in game one. Quincy Vassar was effective in game two, logging 6.0 innings and allowing just two runs.
VU has dropped six of its last seven games and is 25-18 overall, 8-13 in the GSAC. TMU is now 20-16 and 7-14 in league action.
What Happened?
Game 1 – Vanguard 10, The Master's 3
The Lions jumped all over former teammate Gage Webster, who drew the start for the Mustangs. The left-hander failed to record an out as he faced seven batters, which reached due to an error, three singles and three walks. He was charged with seven runs.
Noah Madole drew a bases loaded free pass to force in the first run. Hernandez followed with an RBI single to left field to give the Lions a 2-0 lead. Webster walked in the third and fourth VU runs as Evan Avitia and Omphroy recorded RBI's.
The walk to Omphroy signaled the end of Webster's stint, but TMU reliever Ryan Shalkevich had trouble finding the plate as well. Stevens drew the fourth walk of the inning to plate pinch runner Aaron Zubiate as VU extended its lead to 5-0.
Steven Casas looped a double down the right field line to drive in a pair of runs. Tevis Payne connected for a sacrifice fly to drive in Stevens, and Vultaggio, the 11th batter of the inning, stroked a double to left to bring in Casas for the ninth run.
The Lions took a double-digit lead in the third as Vultaggio doubled and scored on Diaz's single to center.
Dahlstrom allowed just three singles through the first four innings, retiring the Mustangs in order in the second and fourth. He had at least one strikeout in every one of his seven innings, finishing with a double-digit total for the third time in his career.
The Mustangs scored a single run in the fifth, sixth and seventh. Conor Christiansen homered with one out in the fifth to break up Dahlstrom's shutout. However, the right-hander struck out the side to polish off the inning.
Ty Beck scored on a two-out Miles Henderson triple down the right field line in the sixth, and Cason Brownell had an RBI single in the seventh.
Shalkevich, Ethan Schmidt and Michael Chung leveled out the Mustang bullpen as the three relievers held the Lions scoreless for the final five innings.
Jackson Webber tossed 2.0 innings of one-hit scoreless relief to close out the game.
Game 2 – The Master's 4, Vanguard 3 (7)
Vassar and Friesen exchanged zeroes as a pitching duel broke out at the Dean.
Friesen retired nine of the first 10 Lions, with the only blemish an infield single by Jarrell in the second. Vassar allowed a walk and a single through the first two frames. In the second, he helped his own cause by picking off Henderson, who led off with a base hit.
The Mustangs scored one run in the third after Christiansen legged out a leadoff infield single. He moved up 90 feet following a Davis Beavers infield single. Ryan Mathiesen's double brought in Christiansen for the 1-0 TMU lead.
Friesen kept the Lions at bay for the next two innings, although VU had runners at second and third with two outs in the fourth. Friesen got a fly out to keep the inning clean for the Mustangs. In the fifth, he induced an inning ending double play to preserve the shutout.
Vassar continued to keep the deficit to one run as he set TMU down in order in the fourth and avoided harm from a two-out walk in the fifth.
The Masters tacked on a run in the sixth after Vassar had gotten the first two outs. Beck walked and Henderson singled to put a pair of runners aboard. Kobe Katayama followed with a single to center that scored pinch runner Joseph DeFrancisco.
The Lions broke through in the bottom half, knocking Friesen out of the game with a three-run rally. Payne drew a leadoff walk. With one out, Diaz doubled into the gap in right center to put the tying runs on base. Friesen turned a comebacker into out number two as both runners held. However, Jarrell's second infield single of the game got VU on the board with Payne scoring on the play.
Hall pinch hit for Avitia, and fought off several two-strike pitches before lacing a sharp opposite field single to left. Pinch runners Christopher Famolaro and Chase Easter-Hairston scored to give the Lions a 3-2 lead. Friesen exited after throwing 101 pitches, as Mathiesen came in to limit the damage. He walked Omphroy to put a pair of Lions on base, but got Stevens to ground out to end the inning.
Vassar was in line for the win after an 82-pitch outing. Jesus Munguia took the hill for a save opportunity, but Christiansen – one of three Mustangs with two hits – greeted the right-hander with a leadoff single.
Munguia plunked Beavers to put two aboard. The Lions got a huge out when Omphroy fielded Brownell's grounder and fired to third to force out lead runner Owen Payn. However, Mathiesen's single up the middle tied the game at 3-3 as pinch runner Michael Chung scampered home from second.
Austin Young, who had gone 0-for-7 for the day, snapped out of his drought with another single up the middle. Brownell came around to score to give TMU the 4-3 lead. Jake Hiner entered and got the next two outs to keep VU within one run.
Mathiesen set down the first two Lions to begin the bottom half of the seventh, but Vultaggio singled to right center to keep the Blue and Gold's hopes alive. Pinch hitter Chris Brown fought off some tough pitches from Mathiesen, but struck out looking on a controversial call as Mathiesen's pitch appeared to be high.
Mathiesen earned the win to improve to 3-2, while Munguia suffered his first loss to fall to 4-1.
Why Is It Important?: The Lions emerged from the series with a one-game lead over the Mustangs, but squandered an opportunity to be up three with three remaining. VU hosts No. 12 Hope International, while TMU welcomes in Arizona Christian for three GSAC games next weekend. The Lions need to stay in front of TMU by one game to clinch a berth into the GSAC Tournament. If VU and TMU tie in the standings, the Mustangs win the tiebreaker by virtue of winning the season series against the Lions.
What's Next?: The Lions and Royals play a doubleheader on Friday, April 19 at 11:00 a.m.
