IRVINE, Calif. -- Vanguard baseball started the Pacific West Conference series against Concordia University Irvine on Friday, but the Golden Eagles captured both matches.  CUI won 10-4 and 9-6 in the games played at their field, with VU set to host the final two games tomorrow.  The Lions went to 5-20 overall and 2-17 in conference games, while CUI jumped to 15-15, 13-9.
 
 
What Happened?  While the starters for each side had clean first innings, the Blue and Gold surged ahead in the top of the second.  Tristan Gallegos beat out an infield grounder for a single to start the frame, and Angel Perez rocketed a double off the fence in center field to cash in the first run of the day.  CUI recorded the next two outs, but James Derflinger slapped a single to center to make the Vanguard edge 2-0.
 
Jake Hiner had another quiet inning in the second, and the offense gave him more support.  Tyler Shigenaka took a two-out walk, and Joshua Sur took the first pitch he saw and lifted it for a single, with Shigenaka racing to third.  Gallegos then tallied another single to bring in Shigenaka, pushing the advantage to 3-0.  The Golden Eagles got a run in the bottom half, but VU had a response in the top of the fifth. Jaxson Davis put a ball on the ground, but an error by the CUI second baseman allowed him to reach safely.  Another grounder allowed Davis to reach second base, and Sur then mashed a double to center to bring him home, putting the lead at 4-1.
 
But everything changed for Hiner and company in the bottom of the fifth, as the Golden Eagles loaded up the bases with two outs, and a grand slam immediately sent the home side ahead 5-4.  The Lions had chances in the sixth and seventh, beginning with a walk and a double that put two on with two outs in the sixth, but a strikeout ended the chance.  After CUI put up two runs in the bottom half, VU loaded up the bases in the seventh, but the lineup could not manufacture a rebuttal.

The Golden Eagles racked up three more runs over the final frames to win 10-4, as the hosts netted 10 hits, one error, and left five runners aboard.  VU had nine hits and nine stranded runners.  Hiner dropped to 1-6 and had two strikeouts in 5.2 innings of work.  Dylan Scott, Mitch Hunter, Jonathan Gurrola, and Eddie McCartney completed the game for VU.  Gallegos went 3-for-5 to pace the lineup, with Derflinger and Sur each collecting two hits.
 
Game 2
Vanguard rammed two runs on the board out of the gate, with Daniel Rivera leading off with a single.  After stealing second, Rivera was on the right base at the right time, as Shigenaka powered a double to the right-center gap to cash in Rivera.  Shigenaka eased his way to third on a flyout by Sur, and a sacrifice fly by Gallegos padded the edge to 2-0.
 
On the mound, Christopher Ceballos struck out the first batter he faced, but a single was followed by a home run to tie things at 2-2.  Ceballos battled to end the inning, but a double and a single allowed CUI to vault ahead for the first time in the twin bill 3-2.  Yet the offense was lifted by a homer, as Bennett Vondrak fired a 2-2 ball over the fence for his second homer of the campaign, tying the game at 3-3.
 
But the Golden Eagles rode out to another one-run lead in the bottom of the second.  Ceballos got two outs and Seth Wrightstone came on to relieve him, but with a runner on first, a double propelled CUI ahead 4-3.  Neither side scored in the third, but the home side piled on three runs in the fourth to lead 7-3. 
 
Still, VU did not waver and brought back three runs in the fifth.  Vondrak took a walk and eventually scored on a sacrifice fly from Shigenaka, and a booming double by Sur put runners at second and third.  Gallegos provided a clutch single to keep the train moving, as the gap was trimmed to 7-6.
 
Unfortunately, a leadoff double in the fifth rewarded Concordia with another run, while a single made it 9-6 soon thereafter.  CUI had nine runs on 11 hits, one error, and left nine runners aboard.  VU had six runs on eight hits, one error, and left three runners on the base paths.  Ceballos dropped to 1-1 and tied Colton Perez with two strikeouts.  Vanguard used five pitchers, none of whom went over two innings of work.  Gallegos had three RBI to lead VU on a 2-for-2 evening, while both Rivera and Shigenaka had two hits.
 
What's Next?  Vanguard plays two more against the CUI at home at noon tomorrow.