LA MIRANDA, Calif. -- Though Vanguard softball again held the Eagles of Biola to a handful of runs on Monday, VU could not tally a win in the Pacific West Conference series. Biola took game one 2-0 and escaped with a 4-3 win in nine innings in game two to improve to 19-10 overall and 13-2 overall to lead the league in wins. VU dropped to 7-18 overall and 3-8 in conference play.
What Happened? Brianna Williams made only one mistake in game one but it proved costly. A leadoff single was cashed in by a one-out home run that proved to be the only scoring in the game. The Eagles got only one more hit, a double in the bottom of the third, but Williams and the defense stymied the BU offense for the rest of the contest. Williams had two walks and four strikeouts in six innings of work.
However, DJ Symons, who had pitched smartly at VU on Saturday, continued to confuse the Vanguard lineup, as she fanned five in picking up her second win of the series.
Tiffany Pope led the Lions with two singles in three at-bats, but the team generated only one real threat to score came in the top of the sixth.
Kamryn Walker lined a single to right field to open the stanza and got to second on a wild pitch. She then got to third on a popout, but she was left standing there.
Biola scored two runs on three hits, had one error, and left three runners on base. The Lions had four hits and five runners left aboard.
BU 4 VU 3 Walker reversed the trend from game one and clobbered a double to lead off the second matchup. She got to third on a flyout by
Amarah Farley and a sacrifice fly by
Adriana Portillo swung the Lions out to a 1-0 edge.
LeeAnne Miranda was pleased to have the lead, and while the Eagles had a couple of hits over the first five innings, Miranda and the Vanguard defense kept BU off the board.
The Blue and Gold improved their outlook in the top of the sixth after Farley led off with a single. Portillo was hit by a pitch and a sacrifice bunt by
Lilyana Roth put the pair at second and third. While Portillo was thrown out on a grounder, Pope delivered a two-out single to bring home Farley and
Aeri Corral to increase the lead to 3-0.
Yet the Eagles rebounded in the bottom half, as the home side got a double and a single to slice the score to 3-1 and the second home run of the day for BU tied the encounter at 3-3.
Walker was stranded on third in the top of the seventh after her second double of the night, but
Mari Ipatzi blanked the Eagles in the second half of the inning to force extras. VU could not strike in the top of the eighth and though the Eagles got a leadoff triple in the bottom half, Ipatzi generated three straight outs to keep the Lions alive.
Marissa Gurrola singled to start the top of the ninth and
Megan Ireland put down a sacrifice bunt to get her to second, but the Blue and Gold could not get her home. That proved to be the difference, as a single, a double, and another single brought home the winning run for BU to seize a 4-3 win.
The Eagles scored four runs on nine hits and left three runners on base. The Lions had three runs on eight hits and left eight runners aboard. Ipatzi had four Ks in just over two innings of action and took the loss to drop to 0-1. Miranda had one strikeout in six innings. Walker led VU with a 2-for-5 night from the plate, with both hits being doubles. Pope had two RBI to lead the lineup, and seven Vanguard players had a hit in the twin bill.
What's Next? The Lions travel to CUI on Wednesday, March 19, for a doubleheader against the league-leading Golden Eagles beginning at 3:00 p.m.
