COSTA MESA -- The first sweep in Pacific West Conference history by Vanguard softball came against Menlo today as the Lions felled the Oaks in both games.  VU got a solid overall performance in a 3-0 victory in game one, and the home side batted its way out of trouble in game two for a 13-7 victory.  With four games remaining in 2025, the Lions are 20-28 overall and 15-17 in the PacWest, while Menlo dropped to 8-36, 7-23.
 
What Happened?  A leadoff double by the Oaks was canceled out by some good defense behind Brianna Williams, as she set down the next eight in a row.  Neither team could get much going in the second inning, but the Lions benefited from a Menlo error in the bottom of the third. 
 
Both Aeri Corral and Megan Ireland were hit by pitches and the duo advanced a base on a groundout by Kamryn Walker.  Lilyana Roth skied a ball to center field, which was caught, but the MC center fielder threw home just in case Corral tried to tag and score.  However, her throw sailed to the backstop and Corral scampered home to put the Lions up 1-0.
 
With the Oaks stymied, VU scored the final runs of the game in the bottom of the fifth.  Corral led off with a single back up the middle and Walker came to the plate with one out.  She drove a ball to left field and it fell under the dive of the Menlo defender, with Walker coming all the way around the horn for an inside-the-park home run, her first HR of the season.
 
The Oaks got a single in the top of the sixth, but that was the final base runner for MC, as Williams and company closed out the game in just over 80 minutes of action.
 
The Lions scored three runs on six hits and left five runners on base.  MC had three hits, one error, and three runners left on base.  Williams struck out four and did not issue a walk in the complete-game shutout, her fifth of the campaign, and improved to 9-13.  Amarah Farley paced the lineup with a 2-for-3 outing and Walker had both of the team's RBI.
 
VU 13 MC 7 
The final game of the series had a wild first inning, with seven combined runs scored.  It was not an inning to remember for LeeAnne Miranda, as the Oaks garnered four runs in the frame to shock the home side early.  Miranda got one out but then walked the next three hitters, with a single and a triple doing the damage to put a four on the board for the Oaks.  Mia Iacomini came on to spell Miranda and got the final out, and luckily, the Oaks' starter for game two was similarly in trouble in the first.
 
Rosaline Torralva issued three walks to load up the bases and VU got a run on the board thanks to a knock by Mia Hernandez to left field. With two gone, Farley reached on an error to load up the bases again and Carson Cooper registered her first career RBI with a single back up the middle.  Yet the MC center fielder had trouble picking the ball off the grass, with her error allowing Hernandez to score and cut the gap to 4-3.
 
A timely lineout to Walker turned into an ending inning double play in the top of the second but Iacomini ran into trouble in the top of the third. A single and a walk put two on and Vanessa Robles was called in to replace her in the circle.  A couple of groundouts put MC ahead 5-3, but Robles got a fly out to end the interval.
 
Yet the script turned again in the bottom of the fourth, as Corral led off with a single to right field.  Both Ireland and Walker produced singles behind her to bring Corral home and make it a 5-4 gap.  Menlo swapped hurlers but Roth would not be denied, as she dropped a beautiful bunt on the third base line for a base hit that brought Ireland home to tie the game at 5-5.  A double by Adriana Portillo made it 6-5 VU and a single by Hernandez extended the advantage to 8-5.  Cooper closed out the scoring with a single to right to bring Hernandez home, hiking the lead to 9-5 as VU went through the order in the period.

Robles got two quick outs in the top of the fifth but back-to-back errors by the Blue and Gold kept the inning going.  Menlo got a single to cut the score to 9-6 and a bases-loaded walk to make it 9-7.  Mari Ipatzi was called out for the first time in the series, and she got a groundout to retire the side.
 
That would be as close as the Oaks could get, as the Lions scored the next four runs.  A single and a stolen base by Walker put her in scoring position and another Portillo double hauled VU to a 10-7 advantage in the bottom of the fifth.  Farley got a leadoff double that was two feet shy of a home run to start the bottom of the sixth and Adrianna Natividad singled behind her to put runners at the corners.  A groundout by Cooper scored Farley and a triple to left field by Corral made it 12-7.  A groundout by Ireland got Corral home and the Oaks went down in order in the top of the seventh.
 
VU tallied 13 runs on 16 hits, committed two errors, and left seven runners on base.  MC had seven runs, eight hits, two errors, and nine stranded runners.  The Lions set season-highs in runs scored (13) and RBI (12), while tying season-highs in stolen bases (three) and doubles (three).  Walker had a perfect 4-for-4 game and paired that with an RBI, a walk, and a stolen base.  She tied a season-high for runs scored in a game (three) and set one for hits in a game (four).  Hernandez and Cooper tied the season-high with three RBI and Portillo's two doubles tied the season-high.  Every VU batter had at least one hit and all but two had at least one RBI.  Robles got the win, her first of the year (1-4), and Ipatzi recorded her first save while fanning two Oaks.

What was Said?  "We came out with energy and played together as a team this weekend to get the sweep," said Assistant Coach Gabriela Sandoval.  "I'm very proud of how we fought and came from behind to get the win in game four."

Why is it important?  The Lions have won 10 of the last 11 over Menlo and are now 36-9 against MC all-time.
 
What's Next?  Senior day will happen after next Friday's doubleheader against the Cougars of APU, with game one starting at 2:00 p.m.