FRESNO, Calif. -- Vanguard baseball concluded the 2026 campaign with a pair of Pacific West Conference defeats on Saturday at Fresno Pacific, though the offense had its second-best game of the year in the opening affair. The Lions and Sunbirds slugged out a 13-11 contest that eventually fell to FPU, who nicked game two 13-2. Fresno Pacific locked itself into the PacWest Tournament (third seed) with a 32-24 record overall and a 27-17 mark in the program's final run in the league, while VU ends with a 12-38, 9-35 ledger.
What Happened? The Sunbirds snagged the first run of the game in their opening frame, but the Lions were ready to offer battle throughout game one.
Angel Perez and
Bennett Vondrak went yard in back-to-back at-bats in the second inning, setting the tone for a five-run frame for the Blue and Gold.
Brian Paymard was hit by a pitch, the first act of VU loading up the bases, and he eventually scored on
James Derflinger's fielder's choice.
Tyler Shigenaka followed with a two-RBI single up the middle, bringing home
Nathan Hellein and Derflinger.
Jake Hiner gladly took the lead and held FPU in check, and the offense increased the lead in the fourth inning.
Joshua Sur doubled with two outs and scored on a single by Perez to make the Lions' lead 6-1. However, Fresno Pacific responded with four runs, including a two-RBI double and two sacrifice flies, narrowing VU's lead to 6–5 after four innings.
Hellein led off in the fifth and pelted a single to center, and he got to second on a past ball. Taking advantage of the miscue, Derflinger pounced on a pitch for a single to center field to bring Hellein home, taking the gap to 7–5. Two more runs came across in the sixth, with the motion beginning with a Sur single. After Perez was walked, Vondrak's single pushed Sur home, with a Paymard sacrifice fly cashing in Perez to make it a 9-5 ballgame for Vanguard.
Colton Perez took over for Hiner in the fifth and gave up only one run in the sixth, with
Dylan Henson replacing him in the seventh. A clean frame brought the offense back to the dish, and the Lions roared for another pair in the eighth. Sur clobbered a solo shot to start the frame, and after singles from
Angel Perez and Paymard, a grounder by Hellein got Perez home to increase the lead to 11-6.
Unfortunately, Fresno Pacific's offense surged in the eighth inning with seven runs on six hits and an error, flipping the score to 13–11 in its favor, and the hosts held on from there.
VU had 16 hits and 13 runners left on base, while Fresno Pacific had 13 hits and 14 runners stranded, with each team making one error. Sur had a 4-for-6 afternoon with one RBI to lead all players, while both
Angel Perez and Vondrak had three-hit days. Hellein and Derflinger each had a brace, with four Lions netting two RBI. Hiner had two strikeouts in his final collegiate start but did not factor in the decision. Henson took the loss and had one K, dropping to 4-4.
Angel Perez tied his season-high of three hits in a game for the third time this season, while Sur and Vondrak equaled their bests for the second time. The Lions as a team placed their stats just behind the 16-10 win at Jessup from February 13 for offensive production.
Game 2
The final game of 2026 was not as entertaining for the VU faithful, as the Sunbirds piled on 12 runs after three frames, with one more in the fourth giving the hosts 13 for the second time on the day. The Lions got a solo shot from Derflinger in the fifth to get on the board, and got a second run in the fifth after Sur took a walk.
Dash Lopez produced a single, Derflinger took a walk, and with the bases juiced,
Cody White was hit by a pitch to let Sur waltz home.
Each team again had one error, and Vanguard had seven hits to FPU's 16.
Christopher Ceballos got the start and got two outs before
Daniel Rivera took over. He was tagged for the loss, dropping to 1-2, with
Khoi Anderson and
Tyler Prystajko going the final five frames combined. Prystajko found four punchouts in two hitless innings, the fourth time he has hit his K ceiling in 2026. Seven different players had hits for the Blue and Gold
The careers of
Evan Avitia,
Jesus Barreto,
Caden Byers, Ceballos,
Jacob Cuculich,
Jaxson Davis,
Chase Easter-Hairston,
Tristan Gallegos,
Dakota Henson, Hiner, and Prystajko ended with the final out on Saturday.
