COSTA MESA – Levi Hall finished 2-for-4 with four RBI and the Vanguard offense churned out 15 hits, rolling to a 12-6 nonconference baseball victory over Chapman on Tuesday at Dean Harvey Field.
Hall, who had one RBI in his first 20 games, has driven in 10 over his last eight. In his last five starts, the outfielder is batting .500 (11-for-22).
The Lions put together four crooked number innings with four runs in the first, three in the third and seventh, and two in the eighth.
Second baseman Jarred Mazzaferro finished 3-for-3 and scored four runs, while Adam Stevens went 3-for-5 with three RBI. In four games since returning from injury, Stevens is batting .539 (7-for-13) with eight RBI.
Fred Buckson and Antonio Omphroy also had two hits each, with Omphroy scoring three times.
Jesus Munguia and Jake Hiner combined to toss 5.0 scoreless innings. Munguia got the win to improve to 4-0. The Panthers surged late to climb out of a 7-0 hole and cut the deficit to one run. The Lions used a three-run seventh to open up a 10-6 lead, and Jase Schueller locked down the Panther offense for his fourth save.
Kai Osaka led Chapman with a 3-for-4 performance, scoring a run and driving in two more. Dylan Holt, who pitched just one inning, took the loss after yielding the four early runs to the Lions.
VU improved to 23-12 on the season, while Chapman fell to 13-11.
What Happened?
Munguia struck out three in 3.0 hitless innings, allowing just a walk and hit by pitch. The Lions staked him to a 4-0 lead with a four-run outburst in the first, getting a sacrifice fly from Buckson and a bases-clearing double off the bat of Hall.
The Lions extended the lead to 7-0 in the third as Omphroy doubled down the left field line, plating Oscar Diaz, who led off with a walk. Stevens rapped a bases loaded single to left to drive in Omphroy, and Steven Casas drove in Mazzaferro with a fielder's choice grounder.
All was quiet until the top of the sixth as the Panthers scored three runs. A single, hit by pitch and walk loaded the bases on VU reliever Kevin Pence, who whiffed Drew Hallgren for the second out. However, Thomas Golbranson cleared the bases with a double into the left field corner. The Lions ended the inning when Tevis Payne nailed Golbranson attempting to steal third.
The Panthers pieced together another three spot in the seventh off Quincy Vassar. Nick Naccaratto, Matt Campopiano and Austin Dudas singled with one out. The Dudas base hit should have loaded the bags, but the VU center fielder misplayed the ball and allowed Naccaratto to score an unearned run.
Osaka followed with a two-run double, advancing to third as the relay throw that attempted to nail Dudas at the plate sailed to the backstop. But the Lions caught a break as Brennan Beckley's liner to third was caught by Casas, who scrambled to touch the bag and double off Osaka.
The Lions scored three insurance runs in the bottom half of the seventh off Chapman reliever Tyler Buxton. Buxton allowed three straight Lions to reach with one out via two singles and a walk. All three inherited runners scored off Henry Tobias, who allowed a two-RBI single to Stevens. Payne laced an RBI single to right to bring in Hall as VU opened up a 10-6 lead.
Chapman touched Vassar for a pair of singles to lead off the eighth and that brought in the closer Schueller. The right-handed fireballer got a groundout, line out and strike out to extinguish the rally.
VU added two more runs in the eighth on back-to-back doubles by Mazzaferro and Hall. Schueller faced three pinch hitters in the ninth, striking out the last two to end the game.
Why Is it Important?: The Lions played mostly error free after committing a season-high seven in their last game against Hawaii Pacific. VU made several quality defensive plays, including a nifty 6-4-3 double play in the fourth. Stevens ended the fourth inning with a diving catch in right field to rob AJ Anzai of a hit.
What's Next?: Vanguard hosts Simpson in another single game on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m.
