COSTA MESA – Vanguard baseball battled the rain, cold and visiting Hawaii Hilo in a PacWest doubleheader on Friday, coming away with a 12-9 win before the weather postponed game two with the Lions leading 6-3 in the bottom of the fourth.

The Lions pounded out 14 hits in the wild back-and-forth offensive explosion, in which the Lions put up crooked numbers in four straight innings.

Fred Buckson and Tristan Gallegos each had three-hit games, while Jaxson Davis and Colton Perez contributed two apiece.

VU benefited from a career-high 4.0 inning stint from Dakota Henson, who steadied the Blue and Gold in a stellar relief appearance. He tamed a Vulcan offense which had scored eight runs over the first four innings off starter Spencer Edmondson and Christopher Ceballos. Three of the five runs Edmondson allowed were unearned due to a pair of errors in the third.

The Lions overcame a pair of Hawaii Hilo home runs and witnessed Buckson hit his 17th career bomb in a six-run second inning uprising.

The Blue and Gold won their fourth straight game to improve to 12-11 overall and 8-9 in the PacWest. The Vulcans fell to 5-13 and 3-10 in conference play.

What Happened?

The turning point of the game occurred in the fifth when Henson entered with Vanguard leading 10-8. The Vulcan offense had collected seven hits and eight runs through the first four innings to keep the game level at 8-8.

VU added two runs in the bottom half of the fourth via a Christopher Famolaro single and Jarred Mazzaferro walk with the bases loaded.

Outfitting Henson with a two-run lead served the right-hander well as he retired nine straight Vulcans. UHH threatened in Henson's first inning of work by loading the bases with two outs following a single, hit by pitch and walk. But the right-hander got Braedon Mondeau to foul out to escape damage.

UHH went down in order in the sixth and seventh, and Henson set down the first two batters in the eighth before Mondeau belted a solo homer to center field. However, that hit only managed to cut VU's lead to 12-9, as the Lions tacked on two more runs in the fifth. 

Gallegos doubled into the right center gap to scored Buckson, who got aboard via a one-out single. Madole then plated Josh Schleichardt – who followed Buckson with a walk – on a sacrifice fly.

Henson allowed just three hits and one run in a 59-pitch effort. He walked one and struck out one, earning the victory to move to 2-0 on the season.

The Lions did not wait long to respond to UHH scoring a single run in the first. VU's six-run second inning started off a Gallegos double. Colton Perez delivered an RBI single with one out to score Gallegos, and Mazzaferro lifted a sac fly to right to plate Madole, who had earlier gotten hit by a pitch.

Angel Perez knocked in Colton Perez on a single back up the middle, and a Davis infield single put two aboard in front of Buckson.

The shortstop unloaded on a Lucas Groff offering over the left field fence, the three-run homer giving VU a 6-1 lead. It was his third home run of the season. Groff gave up 10 runs and 10 hits over 3.1 innings.

UHH answered with four runs in the third, although Edmondson was on the hook for only one of them. With two outs, he induced Arthur Soto into what should have been an inning-ending groundout, but an error extended the inning and loaded the bases. A bases loaded walk and two-RBI single plated three more runs as UHH whittled its deficit to 6-5.

The Lions took an 8-5 lead with two runs in the bottom half of the third, with the key hit a Colton Perez RBI single. In addition, Angel Perez drove in a run on a fielder's choice groundout.

Edmondson left the game after pitching the third. Ceballos replaced Edmondson to start the fourth, and got a pair of outs after allowing a walk and single to start the frame. Soto drove in Vance Oshiro with a single, while Mark Fedro and Kalei Alana also cashed in a pair of runs via a single and walk.

VU's offense kept churning in the fourth and fifth as the home team created more distance after the Vulcans had rallied to tie the score at 8-8.

The Lion offense set single-game season highs in runs (12), RBI (12), walks (8) and stolen bases (3).

Maxwell Montplaisir pitched a scoreless ninth to secure his third save. The right-hander has an 8.1 scoreless innings streak and boasts a 0.75 ERA for the season.

Game two was postponed with the Lions leading 6-3 in bottom of the fourth inning.

The two teams were tied at 3-3 heading into the fourth, when the Lions scored three times beginning with a Davis RBI double. With the bases loaded, Madole drew a walk and Gallegos was hit by a pitch. The ongoing rain created unplayable field conditions, and play was halted.

What's Next?: The Lions and Vulcans will resume the postponed game at 10:30 a.m. Both teams will then play a nine-inning game at approximately noon, followed by a seven-inning contest later that afternoon.