ROCKLIN, Calif. -- Vanguard softball made a reset mid-week to go 1-1 on Friday to start the Pacific West Conference series at Jessup.
Mari Ipatzi threw a beautiful game to shut out the Warriors and get VU back in the win column, though the script essentially flipped in the second contest as JU won 3-2. Vanguard went to 9-18 overall and 3-7 in PacWest play, while Jessup went to 12-13 overall and 9-7 in conference games.
What Happened? The first of VU's three runs in the opening game of the series came in the first, with a two-out single by
Lilyana Roth starting the movement. She got to second on a wild pitch, which worked well for
Adriana Portillo, as she slapped a single up the middle to send Roth on home.
The other two runs came in the top of the fifth, with Roth again factoring heavily into the equation.
Kamryn Walker reached on a fielder's choice and then stole second to get into scoring position for Roth. She shot a single over the third baseman's head to pocket the RBI as Walker zipped home. Roth then stole second, and a bad throw by the JU catcher allowed her to get up and run to third. A wild pitch then brought Roth in to score, putting the Blue and Gold ahead 3-0.
Ipatzi was at her best, as she gave up only two hits the entire game and fanned six Jessup hitters to set a season-high in the category. She saw JU collect a double in the first, with the runner getting to third soon thereafter, but her second K of the affair ended the threat. She proceeded to retire the side in order over the next three innings, and had no walks or hit batters at the end of the game. Ipatzi improved to 1-3 on the season. It is the second shutout of the season for the Lions, who also played clean defense (zero errors) behind their starter. Roth went 2-for-3 to pace the lineup.
Game 2
It was almost the same story but in reverse in the second ballgame, as VU had only two hits through five frames. Meanwhile, Jessup found a pair of singles to go ahead 1-0 in the bottom of the second off
Vanessa Robles, and the home side then loaded the bases off the VU starter in the third. A walk made it 2-0, but as VU got settled after the base on balls, the JU runner at third bolted home to make it 3-0.
That proved to be huge, as the Blue and Gold eventually got the bats working in the top of the seventh.
ChaCha Miranda had a one-out single, and
Megan Ireland followed that up with a booming double down the right-field line to put runners on second and third. A groundout by Walker brought Miranda in, and Roth got another RBI with a single back into center field. But down one, a ball into right field was caught to end the comeback attempt.
Both sides had six hits, while VU had one error and JU had a pair. The Lions left eight runners on base, while Jessup stranded six. Robles had all three Vanguard strikeouts in the twin bill, but dropped to 3-7.
Mia Iacomini threw the final three innings and gave Jessup only one hit and one walk to allow her team to walk the comeback trail. Six different players had a hit for the Blue and Gold to conclude the day.
What's Next? Vanguard circles back to the Foskett Regional Park field for a 1:00 p.m. doubleheader tomorrow.
