COSTA MESA – Fighting for their playoff lives, Vanguard baseball began a crucial Golden State Athletic Conference series against No. 12 Hope International on Friday at Dean Harvey Field. The Lions split the doubleheader, winning game one 8-6 and falling 5-1 in game two.
Noah Madole, Oscar Diaz, Jarred Mazzaferro and Adam Stevens had hits in both games. Madole went 4-for-6 with a run scored and an RBI.
Antonio Omphroy hit a pair of mammoth solo shots in game one – his sixth and seventh home runs of the season which lifted him into a share of the team lead.
The Lions banged out 10 hits in game one to support starting pitcher Spencer Edmondson, who tossed 6.0 innings and gave up just a pair of unearned runs despite walking five. He yielded just four hits and struck out four.
Vanguard is now 26-18 overall and 9-14 in GSAC play, remaining one game ahead of The Master's for the fifth and final spot in the conference tournament. The Royals are 33-11 and 18-4 in conference action.
What Happened?:
Vanguard 8, No. 12 Hope International 6
The Lions jumped out to a 6-0 lead before holding on for the two-run victory. Vanguard scored two runs in the second, third and fourth off HIU starter Trey Seeley.
Madole opened the second with a double down the left field line. The Lions had runners at the corners after Corey Jarrell's grounder was misplayed by the second baseman for an error. Mazzaferro laced an RBI single to right to give VU a 1-0 lead. After Omphroy sacrificed runners to second and third, Stevens brought in Jarrell on a sacrifice fly to right.
Three straight hits in the third plated two more runs for the Blue and Gold. Back-to-back singles by Nino Vultaggio and Oscar Diaz set up an opportunity for Madole, who golfed a double into the left field corner. Vultaggio scored easily for a 3-0 VU lead. Diaz later scored on a wild pitch to increase the margin to 4-0.
Omphroy led off the fourth with a towering bash to left center. Stevens followed with a walk and moved up two bases on a sac bunt and a ground out. It was Vultaggio's turn to drive in a run as his opposite field double to right made it 6-0 Lions.
Edmondson dealt with runners in scoring position in the HIU second and third innings, but escaped damage. The Royals broke through in the fifth with a pair of runs, aided by a VU error.
Dean Togio and David Rivera walked with one out, and both moved up 90 feet on a wild pitch. With two outs, Alec Arnone hit a routine chopper that Stevens charged and let go under his mitt. Togio and Rivera scored on the error to cut the Lion lead to 6-2.
The Lions got one of those runs back in the sixth. Stevens led off with a single – and moved to second on one of the four sac bunts VU laid down on the day – before trotting another 90 feet on Tevis Payne's fly out. After a Vultaggio walk, Seeley caught the outfielder leaning the wrong way, which started a rundown. Stevens hustled to cross home plate before Vultaggio was retired on the 1-3-6-3 putout.
Edmondson exited after 117 pitches in favor of VU reliever Jackson Webber, who made his program record 81st appearance. The southpaw allowed three runs in his two innings, giving up an RBI single to Arnone in the seventh and a two-run homer to Amari Bartee in the eighth.
However, Omphroy smashed his second dinger of the game to lead off the home half of the eighth, extending VU's lead to 8-5.
Kevin Pence entered in the ninth and earned his first career save. He allowed a leadoff double to Rivera, who eventually came home on a ground out. Pence polished off the game by getting Branden Chun-Ming to fly out.
Game 2 – No. 12 Hope International 5, Vanguard 1
HIU hurler Josh Landry subdued the Lions with a stellar performance. He went 5.2 innings, giving up just four hits and a run while striking out 10. The southpaw retired the side in three of the first four innings and set down 10 straight at one point.
VU counterpart Dylan McDonald recorded the first six outs before running into trouble in the third. Ryan Lamastra got aboard on a leadoff single, and eventually moved to third following a sac bunt and failed pickoff attempt at second. Toigo had an RBI single to put HIU up 1-0.
That was the first of four straight hits off McDonald, who allowed a single to Rivera, a double to J.J. Cruz and a single to Arnone. He also issued a balk that scored Rivera. The Lions trailed 4-0 after McDonald struck out Derek Sims to end the siege.
HIU upped the lead to 5-0 with a run in the fourth. Three straight singles off McDonald and reliever Quincy Vassar loaded the bases before Toigo's sacrifice fly scored Lamastra.
Landry struck out at least one Lion in every inning, including the side in the fifth. However, Stevens slammed a solo shot with two outs to get VU on the scoreboard.
VU's best shot to rally occurred in the sixth as they pressured the Royals with two outs. Diaz and Madole singled, and moved up a base on a wild pitch. Jarrell walked to load the bases, ending the afternoon for Landry. Steven Ordorica got Mazzaferro to ground out to end the threat.
Bryce Barnett gave the Lions two solid innings of scoreless and hitless relief to keep the possibility of a comeback within sight. But Ordorica collected his second save after yielding a one-out walk to Stevens in the seventh. He finished the game with a strikeout and groundout.
Why Is It Important?: Winning one of the two games against HIU puts the Lions in a position where if they win the first game on Saturday, that would force The Master's to win twice over Arizona Christian. Two wins for TMU would clinch the final GSAC Tournament berth. One win for TMU and a VU win would give the bid to the Lions. A VU loss would require the Mustangs to lose twice to the Firestorm for the Blue and Gold to get in.
What's Next?: The Lions host Hope International for a doubleheader on Senior Day tomorrow. VU will honor 18 departing seniors after the conclusion of game two. First pitch for game one is 11:00 a.m.
