COSTA MESA – Vanguard utilized the long ball and the stellar arm of Chris Paruleski to finish off a successful baseball series, taking three out of four against the third place team in the PacWest on Saturday at Dean Harvey Field. The Lions won by scores of 14-5 and 3-0 over Jessup to improve to 23-15 overall and 19-13 in conference play.

Vanguard homered four times in game one behind a 16-hit attack, tying its season-high in runs accomplished one day before in a 14-4 victory. Noah Madole posted his first career two-homer game, and Jaxson Davis and Tristan Gallegos also hit dingers as the Lions have now tallied 26 homers over the last 18 contests.

Paruleski tossed a complete game four-hit shutout in game two to lower his ERA to 2.22, the second-best mark in the PacWest. All four hits he allowed were singles and only four Warriors managed to reach second or third base throughout the game.

Madole had a monster afternoon, finishing 5-for-9 with two runs scored and three RBI. Fred Buckson went 6-for-9 with three runs scored and three RBI. In game one, Gallegos had a three-hit effort, while Davis, Tyler Shigenaka and Jarred Mazzaferro all contributed two hits.

Dominic Ott and Nick Poss homered for Jessup (24-13, 21-11 PacWest).

What Happened?

Game 1 – Vanguard 14, Jessup 5

Vanguard raced out to a 7-2 lead through three innings, setting the tone immediately as Davis led off the first with a towering home run to center field.

Shigenaka's RBI double in the second plated Levi Hall for a 2-0 lead, and Buckson followed with a run-scoring single.

The Warriors responded with back-to-back homers in the third from Ott and Poss to trim the VU lead to one, but the Lions pinned four on the visitors in the bottom half.

Gallegos and Madole took Jessup starter Diego Chavez deep in back-to-back at-bats. With two outs, Shigenaka, Mazzaferro and Davis stroked singles, bringing in another run for a 6-2 lead. The Warrior third baseman committed an error on Buckson's grounder to allow Mazzaferro to come around as well.

Jessup pulled one run back in the fifth on a VU miscue, but the Lions answered with two in the bottom half. Buckson drove in a run on a fielder's choice and Josh Schleichardt added a run-scoring groundout as the Lions led 9-3.

Madole cranked his second home run of the game, a solo shot in the sixth. Gallegos added an RBI double in the seventh to increase the lead to 11-3.

VU starter Jake Hiner had a quality start, pitching 6.0 innings and allowing five hits with three runs (two earned). He walked just two and struck out three on 103 pitches.

The Warriors scored twice in the eighth, but the Lions responded with three in the bottom half on RBI's from Buckson, Brian Paymard and Gallegos.

Chavez lasted just 4.0 innings, yielding 11 hits and nine runs (eight earned). He fell to 4-3 on the season. 

Hiner improved to 5-2 as he has allowed three runs or less in each of his last three starts.

Game 2 – Vanguard 3, Jessup 0

Paruleski shined as he retired seven of the first eight Warriors he faced.

In the third, Jessup loaded the bases against Paruleski, but the right-hander got Ott to ground into a 4-6-3 double play to escape unscathed.

The Lions provided Paruleski all the run support he needed in the third as Davis led off with a walk. Jessup removed starting pitcher Eric Vasser in favor of Ryan Stone, who was greeted by a Buckson single. Schleichardt got the Lions on the scoreboard with an RBI single. Later in the inning, Madole delivered Schleichardt with an RBI single as VU took a 2-0 lead.

Paruleski remained in a groove, setting down seven of the next nine Warriors. The Lions tacked on an insurance run in the fifth as Buckson singled and moved to second on a failed pickoff attempt. A base knock from Gallegos scored Buckson easily for the 3-0 VU lead.

Tony Otis singled and stole second as Jessup had a runner in scoring position in the sixth. But Paruleski got the next two Jessup hitters to foul out and fly out.

Paruleski completed the four hitter on a Rudy Rodriguez groundout to improve to 5-2 on the season. Vasser took the loss to fall to 1-2.

What's Next?: Vanguard plays eight straight games on the islands, beginning on Friday, April 11 against Chaminade. The first pitch in Honolulu is 6:00 p.m. (PT).