COSTA MESA -- The first Pacific West Conference series sweep for Vanguard softball today saw the Lions topple the Sharks of Hawaii Pacific in the final day of the series. Scoring nine runs in both games (9-2, 9-4), the Lions claimed their first series win of the season and were led by
Lilyana Roth, who went 6-for-7 across both games. The Lions improved to 15-22 overall and 9-11 in PacWest play, dropping HPU to 4-30, 2-24.
What Happened? The Lions opened the scoring after
Mari Ipatzi cleared the top of the first with only a single allowed.
Megan Ireland chopped a single through the left side of the infield, and Roth bunted her to second. Both
Kayla Rodriguez and
Andrea Connor took two-out walks, and that brought
Leah Mays to the dish. She clobbered the second pitch she saw deep into the left-field corner, as her triple cleared the bases to put VU ahead 3-0.
An error in the top of the third allowed the Sharks to make it 3-1, and a double and a triple in the fifth cut the advantage to 3-2. However, the Blue and Gold powered up in a big way in the bottom half to put the game out of reach. It began with Ireland getting hit by a pitch, and after Roth singled to center field,
Kamryn Walker placed a tidy bunt on the left side of the infield to load up the bases. Connor brought in a run with a sacrifice fly, and now up 4-2 with two outs, Mays worked a walk to juice the bases again. This brought
Preslee Brower to the plate, and the Sharks put their left fielder closer to center field. This meant that she was not ready for the blast that Brower launched towards the left-field corner, and her dive came up short, with the ball rolling into the corner in foul territory. By the time the Sharks got the relay to the infield, Brower was halfway home, as she grabbed her career-first home run, an inside-the-park grand slam.
Up 8-2, an error by Hawaii Pacific made it 9-2 in the sixth, as
Adriana Portillo scored on a bad throw to first.
Lauren Cantwell had two clean innings to close out the victory, fanning four in the process.
The Lions had nine runs on eight hits and left five runners on the base paths. HPU had two runs on seven hits while leaving 10 aboard. Each side had one error in the contest. Ipatzi had two Ks and improved to 5-4 on the year. Roth went 3-for-3 to lead the team, while Mays and Brower accounted for seven of the 10 VU runs.
Game 2
Vanguard scored first for the third game in a row, as Roth and Walker each got singles to put two on with one out. Rodriguez slapped a ball to the left side of the infield, and the HPU third baseman made a mistake that allowed both Lions to cross the dish.
Ahead 2-0,
Mia Iacomini had smooth sailing through two intervals, but things got dicey in the third. A single and a couple of walks loaded up the bases, with a double, a single, and a sacrifice fly bringing in four runs over the next three hitters. Cantwell entered during that phase and eventually got the third out, but luckily, the offense was not going to let the pitchers down.
Walker got aboard via a fielder's choice in the bottom half, and then slid safely into second for a stolen base. A Rodriguez grounder resulted in another Hawaii Pacific error, which got Walker to third. With Connor at the plate, Rodriguez started to steal, drawing the HPU throw which precipitated Walker to come in, even though Rodriguez was eventually caught in the rundown.
In the bottom of the fourth,
Bella Bastien reached on another Shark error, and a single by Portillo put two on base with no outs. Clean singles by Ireland and Roth pocketed two VU runs to vault the side ahead 5-4, with Walker taking the advantage to 7-4 with a booming triple to the center-field fence. A wild pitch scored Walker, and ahead 8-4, the Blue and Gold tagged on a final run in the fifth.
Ava Jo McGowan got a two-out single, and she came home on a single by Portillo that included an error by the HPU right fielder.
12 hits brought home nine Vanguard runs, and the squad left five runners on the base paths. HPU had four errors, seven hits, and four players left aboard. Iacomini had one strikeout, and Cantwell had one while getting the win to improve to 4-5. Roth had three hits again, ending the game at 3-for-4 while leading VU with two RBI. Portillo, Connor, and Walker each had two hits for the home side.
What's Next? The Silverswords of Chaminade University of Honolulu come for a Friday doubleheader at 2:00 p.m.
