COSTA MESA -- The first Pacific West Conference doubleheader sweep by Vanguard softball today allowed the Lions to take three out of the four games against the Urban Knights of the Academy of Art.  VU grabbed shutout victories of 4-0 and 3-0 Monday to improve to 11-24 overall and 6-13 in PacWest play.  ART U dropped to 6-30, 4-17. 
 
What Happened?  The offensive numbers were low throughout game one, as neither the Urban Knights nor the Lions could punch a run over home plate through five innings.  Though the Lions got the bases loaded in the bottom of the first and had runners in scoring position in every inning, the Blue and Gold could not strike until the bottom of the sixth.
 
While the offense was stuck for a spell, Vanguard was in capable hands in the field, as Brianna Williams had a no-hitter going through four innings.  Though ART U getting three singles in the top of the fifth, Williams received good defensive efforts behind her to leave two Urban Knights stranded.
 
The offense arrived with a two-out rally in the bottom of the sixth, with Kamryn Walker taking a walk to start the procession.  Lilyana Roth was hit by a pitch to put two aboard and that brought up Adriana Portillo.  She chopped a ball to the left side of the infield but the throw to first pulled the ART U first baseman off the base, with Walker scoring on the sequence.  Portillo stole second to put Lions on second and third but that turned out to not be a huge factor, as Amarah Farley bashed a triple to the right-center gap to clear the bases and put VU ahead 3-0.  Mia Hernandez then smacked a double to the left-field fence to bring Farley home and put the advantage at 4-0.
 
Williams got three rapid outs in the top of the seventh to give Vanguard a two-game win streak.  ART U had four hits, three errors, and six runners left on base.  VU had four runs, five hits, and 11 runners left on the base paths.  Williams improved to 5-11 and fanned four while going the distance for the Lions.  Kayla Vaughan had a strong effort while keeping VU off the board over five frames, but dropped to 4-12.  Five VU hitters had one hit apiece. 
 
ART U 0 VU 3 The offense emerged earlier in the second contest, as the Lions struck for a pair of runs in the bottom of the second.  Hernandez took a leadoff walk, and Tiffany Pope followed her example to put two on with no outs.  ChaCha Miranda tried to bunt the pair forward, but her attempt was caught by the ART U third baseman in the air.  However, her throw to try to get a double play at first base sailed to the fence, allowing the VU runners to reach second and third anyway.  Aeri Corral then knocked a single to left field to bring the duo home to heave Vanguard into a 2-0 lead.
 
The final tally of the afternoon came in the bottom of the fifth, with Walker taking a base on balls to lead things off.  Roth bunted her to second and a ground out by Portillo pushed Walker to third.  Farley then blasted a double to the left-field fence to easily score Walker and give VU a 3-0 edge.
 
The sister synergy between LeeAnne Miranda and ChaCha Miranda, combined with solid defensive play, allowed the Lions to keep the Urban Knights at bay.  ART U had six hits in the twin bill and got a runner to scoring position in four of seven innings, but the Blue and Gold did not commit an error when it mattered and made great plays throughout the contest.  LeeAnne Miranda fanned four hitters and improved to 3-4, picking up back-to-back complete-game shutouts for the first time in her career.
 
The Lions scored three runs on six hits, had two errors, and left five runners on base.  Academy of Art had six hits, one error, and eight runners left aboard.  Corral and Portillo each went 2-for-3, with Corral leading VU with two RBI and netting a team-high three hits over both games.  Pope took two walks and Megan Ireland had a single in the second encounter of the day, while Farley was the lone Vanguard hitter to have an extra-base hit in each game.
 
What's Next?  The Lions make their first trip to Hawaii, with the team playing a brace of games against the University of Hawaii at Hilo on Friday that start at 3:00 p.m. PT.