Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 SAN MARCOS, Calif. -- The Vanguard softball team squeezed in two final nonconference games on Tuesday against the Panthers of Cal State San Marcos.  The #24 team in NCAA DII (in the latest National Fastpitch Coaches Association poll) took on the #22 squad in the NAIA and the Lions emerged with 5-2 and 5-1 victories on the day, improving to 32-10 overall.  CSUSM falls to 23-16 in the first sweep of the Panthers since 2008.
 
What Happened?  Neither team got a runner on base to in the first inning but the Blue and Gold pocketed two runs in the top of the second.  Adriana Portillo started things off with a single to left and Bianca Morales followed her with another base knock.  Marissa Gurrola bunted the pair to second and third and Carli Row drove a single to center field to score Portillo to put VU on the board.  Ashley Klopfenstein was up next and she slapped a grounder that allowed Morales to score, as the Lions left the frame up 2-0.
 
Brianna Williams kept the Panthers off the board until a home run in the bottom of the fourth cut the gap to 2-1.  Though the Lions got two hits in the top of the sixth, the lineup could not generate any runs.  Gaining a bit of energy, CSUSM knotted the score at 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth via a pair of singles to push a tied game into the final frame. 
 
Despite the late setback, VU responded with a trio of runs to seal the win in the top of the seventh.  Gurrola led off with a single and Row bunted her to second.  Klopfenstein then reached on an error and Aeri Corral smacked a single to center to drive Gurrola in.  Ahead 3-2 and with runners and first and second, Amarah Farley pushed the Lion runners forward one base with a ground out and that brought Kamryn Walker to the dish.  She lined a single that scored both Corral and Klopfenstein to put Vanguard up 5-2.  Williams had the lead and would not relinquish it, as VU starter and the defense got three ground outs in a row to seal the win.
 
VU scored five runs on eight hits and left four runners aboard.  San Marcos had two runs on five hits, two errors, and three runners stranded.  Williams improves to 14-5 and fanned four hitters in seven innings of work.  Walker led the squad with two RBI and Portillo went 2-for-3 to pace the lineup.
 
Game 2
The Panthers got the first hit of the game off Vanessa Robles in the bottom of the first but a tidy double play by the defense helped her leave the inning quickly.  Lilyana Roth got the first VU hit of the contest in the top of the second, but the Blue and Gold had only to wait until the top of the third to put a run on the board.  
 
Farley laced a one-out single back up the middle to get aboard and she then stole second with Walker at the plate.  The freshman did not pass up a chance for an RBI, as she lined a single down the right-field line to put the Lions up 1-0.  The pitching a defenses ruled for the next three innings, but once more, the Lions pulled away for good in the top of the seventh. 

Gaby Ramirez started the rally with a single to right and Corral got hit by a pitch to put two Lions on.  Farley came to the plate next and hit a chopper in the infield, but the Panthers made a bad throw trying to get Ramirez out at third, which allowed her to rush home and score to put the advantage at 2-0.  Walker was the next batter and she reached on another error by CSUSM which resulted in both Farley and Corral scoring, as Walker ended up at third on the miscue.  Up 4-0, a sacrifice bunt by Noni Chaves granted Walker a clear path home to put Vanguard up 5-0.
 
The Panthers got a couple of runners on base in the bottom of the seventh, and though they scratched across one run, Robles and the defense shut the hosts down after that to secure a 5-1 win.
 
The Lions tallied five runs on six hits, had one error, and left six runners on base.  The Panthers had one run on three hits, four errors, and three runners left on the base paths.  Walker again garnered two RBI and Ramirez went 2-for-3.  Farley scored two of the VU runs.  Robles had one strikeout and two walks and improves to 9-2.  The Lions have now won three in a row against CSUSM and are 14-25 against the Panthers all-time.
 
What's Next?  The Lions will travel to Hope International on Friday for a 1:00 p.m. doubleheader of Golden State Athletic Conference action.