COSTA MESA – Vanguard and Fresno Pacific opened up a four-game PacWest baseball series on Friday at Dean Harvey Field, and pitching ruled the day as both teams came away with a victory.

The Lions prevented a no-hitter with a ninth inning single in the 1-0 game one loss, but rebounded with a 4-3 triumph in game two.

Fred Buckson delivered a leadoff single to open the ninth off Sunbirds starter Josiah O'Bannon, who had stymied the Lions to that point. He had allowed six Lion baserunners via five walks and a hit by pitch, but no one from the Blue and Gold could find open space until Buckson's hit.

The Lions got the first two runners on in the ninth, but Fresno Pacific closer Austin Watson struck out the final two hitters to preserve the victory. 

Vanguard produced nine hits in game two – three by Buckson – as he finished the day 4-for-8. The Lions threw five pitchers and held off a Sunbird rally in the seventh inning.

VU is now 9-11 on the season and 5-9 in the PacWest. Fresno Pacific moves to 10-11 and is also 5-9 in the conference.

What Happened?

Fresno Pacific 1, Vanguard 0

O'Bannon retired the first nine Lion hitters before allowing a leadoff walk to Jaxson Davis in the fourth.

The Lions got their first runner into scoring position in the sixth when Tyler Shigenaka got hit by a pitch and was sacrificed to second via a Christopher Famolaro bunt. But O'Bannon got the next two outs to keep the game scoreless.

Spencer Edmondson was brilliant as the VU ace matched O'Bannon zero for zero. Fresno Pacific put a runner in scoring position in the third and fifth innings, but Edmondson escaped unscathed.

In the seventh, Josh Schleichardt walked and stole second, but the Lions could not bring him in.

Fresno Pacific scored the lone run in the eighth on an unfortunate sequence of events. Trent Mallonee hit a leadoff single and moved to second on a sac bunt. Edmondson whirled around to attempt to pick off Mallonee, but his throw sailed into center field to put the runner on third.

Austin Cappas delivered a sac fly to left to score Mallonee with the unearned run.

Vanguard got Levi Hall to second in the eighth after he walked and advanced on a sac bunt. But a pair of fly outs got O'Bannon to the dugout with his no-hitter still intact.

Maxwell Montplaisir tossed a scoreless ninth to keep VU within one run, and it looked as if the Blue and Gold might deliver some heroics in their final at-bat.

Buckson's single and Schleichardt's walk put two Lions aboard, and Noah Madole sacrificed them up 90 feet to put the game-tying and game-winning runs within striking distance. 

Watson was summoned from the bullpen, and Fresno Pacific decided to intentionally walk Tristan Gallegos to load the bases. Watson then proceeded to fan the next two VU hitters to earn his first save. O'Bannon improved to 3-2, while Edmondson suffered the hard luck defeat to fall to 2-3.

Edmondson allowed six hits and the one unearned run through 8.0 innings, walking three and striking out three.

Vanguard 4, Fresno Pacific 3

Vanguard had gone 25 straight innings without scoring a run, but put an end to the drought with a run in the first.

The Lions answered the Sunbirds, which led off the game with a Mallonee home run. Buckson singled in the bottom half and eventually got to third on a Gallegos base hit. Madole then rapped a single to left to plate Buckson and tie the score at 1-1.

VU took a 3-1 lead in the second as Davis doubled home Colton Perez, who led off with a single and moved to second on an Angel Perez sac bunt. Buckson provided an opposite field RBI single to cash in Davis.

The Lions chased FPU starter Tim Ruiz after just 1.2 innings, victimizing him for six hits and the three runs. Matt Bettencourt calmed down the VU bats for 3.0 innings as he allowed just one hit and two walks over that span.

Jesus Barreto got the start for VU, and he went 3.2 innings with five hits and one run allowed. He gave up a double to FPU catcher Ethan Tsui in the fourth, but Tsui got caught in a rundown between second and third on Gabe Henderson's grounder. Henderson took second after Tsui was tagged out.

The Lions summoned Christopher Ceballos from the bullpen, and the right-hander got Mallonee to ground out to end the inning.

Dakota Henson got the ball to start the fifth for VU, and he overcame an error to start the inning, getting a fly out and two strikeouts to retire the side.

VU picked up a crucial insurance run in the sixth to take a 4-1 lead. The Lions loaded the bases with one out and Schleichardt brought in Angel Perez with a single to left.

Jacob Morales entered in the seventh following Montplaisir's second stint of the afternoon, in which he retired the only two batters he faced.

Morales got two Sunbirds to fly out following Chris Clement's leadoff single. But Morales issued a pair of walks to load the bases, and pinch hitter Garrett Perkins collected a two-RBI single to move the Sunbirds within 4-3.

FPU brought up another pinch hitter in Eric Wilson, but Morales got him to ground out to second to preserve the save. Henson earned the win after tossing 1.1 scoreless innings. Ruiz was saddled with the loss and fell to 2-3.

What's Next?: Vanguard and Fresno Pacific play another doubleheader on Saturday, with the game one first pitch taking place at 11:00 a.m.