HONOLULU, Hawai'i – Vanguard baseball clamped down on Chaminade to secure the PacWest doubleheader sweep at Les Murakami Stadium, defeating the Silverswords by scores of 3-1 and 10-0.
After giving up 11 runs in the each of the first two games of the series, the Lions limited the Silverswords to just six hits and one run over 14 innings on Sunday.
Vanguard also returned to its power hitting ways, slamming four in a game for the second time this season.
Jaxson Davis homered for the second and third consecutive games. Josh Schleichardt posted his first career two-homer game, and took sole possession of the team lead with nine.
Noah Madole also went deep, as the Lions have hit 32 of their 41 homers over the last 22 contests.
Graduate transfer Chris Paruleski continued to pitch at an elite level, delivering his third complete game victory in the last five starts. The right-hander, who lowered his PacWest leading ERA to 2.10 with the impressive effort, has pitched to a 1.36 ERA during that stretch.
Four Lion pitchers combined for a two-hit shutout in game two.
The Lions peppered Chaminade pitching for 14 hits in game two, marking the fifth time in the last seven games the offense has produced double-digit hits.
Vanguard evened its trip to the Hawaiian islands at 2-2, improving to 25-17 overall and 21-15 in PacWest play. Chaminade fell to 17-24 overall and 15-21 in conference action.
What Happened?
Game 1 – Vanguard 3, Chaminade 1
Vanguard wasted no time getting on the board as Davis led off the game, smacking a 3-2 pitch over the right field fence for a solo home run and 1-0 lead.
Paruleski retired seven of eight Chaminade hitters with Alex Greb getting on base via a hit by pitch in the third. Greb scored the only run for the 'Swords after being sacrificed to second and driven in on a single from Jarin Banis.
VU retook the lead in the fourth as Tyler Shigenaka led off with a ground rule double to left center. Angel Perez moved Shigenaka to third with a single, and Jarred Mazzaferro's sacrifice fly brought in Shigenaka.
The Lions forced Chaminade starter Brennen Panis from the game after he walked Schleichardt with one out in the fifth. Tristan Gallegos greeted reliever Sebastian Castro with a single that sent Schleichardt to third. Madole's RBI grounder plated Schleichardt for the 3-1 VU lead.
Paruleski dealt with runners on first and second in the fifth, but he struck out Jake Harper and Banis swinging to end the threat.
In the sixth, the 'Swords attempted a two-out rally with runners at second and third, but Paruleski got Jackson Dorn to fly out.
He pitched a pristine seventh, getting all three 'Swords to ground out and complete a 101-pitch effort. Paruleski improved to 6-2, allowing just four hits and one run while walking one and striking out three.
Panis took the loss to dip to 0-2 after yielding three runs in 4.1 innings.
Game 2 – Vanguard 10, Chaminade 0
The Blue and Gold produced a first inning home run for the second straight game, as Schleichardt roped his ninth dinger with two outs.
VU tacked on two more runs in the second following a Christopher Famolaro RBI single and Mazzaferro RBI groundout.
But the inning that put the game out of reach was the fourth, where the Lions rang up six runs on Chaminade reliever Xavier Stoker.
The Lions managed to do so with two outs. With Famolaro on second, Davis slammed his second homer of the afternoon, a two-run shot to right field that put VU up 5-0. Fred Buckson followed with a single, and Schleichardt unleashed a two-run shot to left for a 7-0 Lion lead.
Gallegos produced the fourth consecutive VU hit on an infield single, and Madole provided the third two-run homer of the inning to five the Blue and Gold a 9-0 advantage.
VU notched its 10th run in the sixth as Shigenaka delivered an RBI single to score Schleichardt, who led off the inning with a hit by pitch.
Jacob Morales pitched the first 2.2 innings for the Lions. He allowed two hits and two walks while striking out three. In the third, the 'Swords loaded the bases with two outs, and Vanguard summoned closer Maxwell Montplaisir to extinguish the threat. He did just that, getting Cade Fujii to fly out.
Montplaisir threw 2.1 hitless innings and fanned three before handing the ball to Jacob Cuculich in the sixth. Cuculich tossed a clean inning and Dylan Henson posted a scoreless seventh.
VU pitchers retired the last eight Chaminade hitters to finish off the game.
Montplaisir earned the win to improve to 3-1. Chaminade starter Anthony O'Canas dropped to 0-4 after allowing four hits and three runs in 2.0 innings.
What's Next?: The Lions continue their trip on the islands, beginning a four-game series against Hawaii Pacific on Thursday, April 17 at 8:30 p.m. (PT).
