COSTA MESA -- The first of four games in Pacific West Conference baseball action between Vanguard and Chaminade University of Honolulu went to VU in a 10-4 victory. The two teams exchanged early offensive explosions before Vanguard settled in on the mound, taking control of the meeting and shutting out the Silverswords after the third inning. VU improved to 10-25 overall and 7-22 in PacWest play, while CUH fell to 7-30, 5-26.
What Happened? The first inning accounted for seven runs, with a pair of triples assisting the Silverswords to a 3-0 edge. But
Jesus Barreto got out of the jam, and the offense slugged its way to a lead.
Joshua Sur took a two-out walk, and
Jaxson Davis followed with a single to right field.
Angel Perez was hit by a pitch, and with the bases loaded,
Colton Perez sent a towering shot over the fence in right field for a grand slam to push the Blue and Gold ahead 4-3. His sixth home run of the year was not the game winner, but CUH never tied the game or took the lead after that.
The Lions then pegged on two more in the second, as
Tyler Shigenaka and
Tristan Gallegos recorded back-to-back two-out singles. Sur was hit by a pitch to juice the bases once more, and a walk to Davis made it 5-3. A wild pitch made it 6-3, though CUH sliced a run off the advantage in the top of the third. The Silverswords put the first two runners on base, with a single scoring one, triggering a pitching change that brought
Seth Wrightstone into the contest. The new VU hurler got consecutive Ks to end the frame before setting CUH down in order in the fourth. Both sides were scoreless in the fifth, but Vanguard loaded up the bases in the sixth and ended up posting four more tallies.
Nathan Hellein was hit by a pitch, and when Shigenaka laid down a sacrifice bunt, the Silversword's catcher made a bad throw that allowed both Lions to reach safely. Back-to-back walks to Gallegos and Sur brought in a run, with consecutive sacrifice flies increasing the VU advantage to 9-4. A double down the right-field line for
Colton Perez finished the frame off with a flourish, as VU took a 10-4 lead that ended up being the final score.
VU had 10 runs on 11 hits, one error, and 10 runners left on base, while CUH had four runs, seven hits, two errors, and 11 runners left on the base paths. Wrightstone had five strikeouts in 4.2 innings and got the win to improve to 3-5 on the season.
Dakota Henson completed the final two frames for the Blue and Gold and had two Ks and two walks, but no hits or runs surrendered.
James Derflinger had a 3-for-5 day to pace the Lions, with
Colton Perez next with five RBI on his two hits. Sur worked three walks in the game.
What was Said? "Strong team win all around," said Head Coach
Rob Pegg. "The guys responded well in the first after getting down early. A lot of good at-bats strung together. It was a great effort by Seth coming in, and had everything going. A well-deserved win. A lot of really solid plays on defense as well."
What's Next? The Lions face Chaminade for two seven-inning games tomorrow, starting at noon.
