COSTA MESA -- Vanguard baseball concluded its first season of the 2026 campaign with a split on Saturday with Saint Martin's University (Wash). SMU took game one 10-6, while the Lions had an 8-1 victory in the second contest to win the series and start at 2-1.
SMU 10 VU 6
Jake Hiner got the nod for the second game of the season, and he got two strikeouts in the top of the first, but he had some trouble in the top of the second. After two more Ks to start the frame, SMU got a walk, a single, a triple, and another single to vault ahead 3-0. Hiner fanned another batter to end the interval, but the Lions had another early hole to dig out of.
The offense got one run back in the bottom half, as
James Derflinger was hit by a pitch and then swiped second.
Nathan Hellein floated a single into left field to bring Derflinger home and make the score 3-1.
Dakota Henson replaced Hiner at the top of the fifth and had a clean frame with a walk and a strikeout, with
Braden Turner taking over in the sixth. The Saints tagged on a run with three hits, with a double and a pair of singles putting the visitors ahead 4-1. The Lions made a rebuttal in bottom half of the inning, as Derflinger tattooed the first home run of the season over the fence in left.
Each side went down in order in the seventh, but the Saints seemed to put things away in the top of the eighth, as four runs came in off of two hits, which included a two-RBI triple. Vanguard, though, had other ideas, as the lineup came to the aid of their pitchers with five runs in the bottom of the eighth. It all started with a
Dash Lopez double down the left-field line, which was followed by a Derflinger bunt single to put runners at the corners. Hellein smoked a single to left field to bring in Lopez, and an
Evan Avitia single brought two more home.
Tyler Shigenaka then snapped a base hit to right to bring in another tally, making it an 8-6 game.
However, the Saints padded their lead again with a pair of runs in the top of the ninth, and though Derflinger got another single in the bottom half, a double play ended the contest.
SMU had 10 runs on nine hits and left nine runners on base, while VU had six runs, 11 hits, three errors, and 10 runners stranded. Hiner had six strikeouts but dropped to 0-1, and
Daniel Rivera had two Ks in one inning of work. Derflinger led the Lions with a 3-for-4 afternoon, with Hellein next at 2-for-3 and a pair of RBI. Avitia also had two RBI, and Lopez had a 2-for-4 ledger.
VU 8 SMU 1
Seth Wrightstone's debut as a VU starter began with three crisp innings, with a double play negating a single in the top of the second. But the Saints used two singles in the top of the fourth, both bunts, to get two aboard with no outs. A groundout advanced the runners, and a wild pitch made it 1-0. But Wrightstone got a strikeout and a ground out to end the threat, and he tallied four Ks during his five innings of work. Having held the Saints in check, through five, the Blue and Gold used their bats to blast their way to a lead.
It started in the bottom of the second, as
Colton Perez and
Angel Perez started the period with back-to-back singles. Derflinger floated a single to left and the SMU left fielder had a nad moment on the hop, allowing
Colton Perez to get home on the error.
Joshua Sur brought home
Angel Perez on a sacrifice fly a short time later, giving the Lions a 2-1 lead.
The big moment came in the bottom of the fifth, as Shigenaka,
Jaxson Davis, and
Tristan Gallegos all got on via singles. With plenty of Lions on the plain,
Colton Perez catapulted a ball over the fence in left-center field, pushing VU ahead 6-1. A pair of walks and a hit batter allowed Vanguard to load up the bases again, with a wild pitch bringing Derflinger home to make it 7-1.
The final run came in the bottom of the sixth, as Gallegos got on with a leadoff single, reached second on a past ball, and scampered to third on a ground out.
Angel Perez then singled to give VU an 8-1 lead, and
Dylan Henson gave up only one hit over the final two frames to stall any SMU comeback.
The Lions scored eight runs on 10 hits, committed one error, and left eight runners aboard. SMU had one run, four hits, one error, and five runners left. Wrightstone went to 1-0, and
Dylan Henson had two strikeouts. Four VU players, Derflinger, Gallegos,
Colton Perez, and
Angel Perez, all had two hits, with
Colton Perez leading the team with four RBI off his first home run of the season.
What's Next? Vanguard stays home through the week and starts a three-game set against Stanislaus State next Friday with a 2:00 p.m. matchup.
