Box Score LINCOLN, Calif. – Jessup baseball (3-2, 1-1 PacWest) hosted Vanguard University (4-4, 1-1 PacWest) for their PacWest series opener, 16-10 and 9-4.
On a beautiful day at Historic McBean Stadium, the Jessup Warriors welcomed the Vanguard Lions for their first conference series of the season. Jessup entered Friday afternoon after taking two of three from Chico State two weeks prior. At .500, the Lions visited Lincoln after taking a series from Saint Martin's but dropping two from Stanislaus State. It was a story of two different starts as both the Lions and Warriors fed off each other's offensive explosions and pitching prowess.
Game One, 16-10
The inaugural PacWest matchup for 2026 featured a high-scoring fight. Vanguard began the afternoon with a run in the first but Jessup immediately in a big way, 1-0. Down one in the first, the Warriors got the bats going early. Leadoff hitter Cody Antone singled up the middle followed by a Landyn Plaut and Quinton Hall walk. Justin Tsukada got the Warriors on the board with a sacrifice fly out deep enough into left field to score his leadoff hitter, 1-1. A two-RBI single from Jaron Nevarez gave the Warriors their first lead of the day, 3-1. The scoring continued when Jayden Montero delivered with bases loaded for a two-RBI base knock, 5-1. Jessup batted around the lineup as Antone capped the inning with his second hit of the inning to bat in the sixth run of the frame, 6-1.
Vanguard had matched the Jessup explosion with a six run inning of their own in the top of the second inning to regain their early lead, 7-6. However, Jessup again would respond in the third. Hunter Hirayama jumped on a pitch and sent it flying over the left field wall. His first home run of the year came at just the right moment as the two-run shot to put his team back on top, 8-7. In the fourth, the top of the lineup proved their value as Quinton Hall singled up the middle to extend the Jessup lead, 9-7.
At the top of the fifth, Vanguard reclaimed their edge from a four run inning, 11-9. After two scoreless frames, the Lions again extended their lead with a four run eight inning, 15-9. Jessup did tally a run in the bottom of the eighth from a Plaut home run to right, 15-10. But Vanguard got the run back in the top of the ninth, 16-10. The score would remain as the Lions took the first meeting of the double header. 16-10.
At the leadoff spot, Antone reached five times with three hits, two walks and stole a bag. Plaut and Hirayama both went yard with it being Plaut's second long ball of the year. Loren Iwata got the start for the Warriors with 1.1 innings pitched and a strikeout. Jason Riviello came in for 0.2 and recorded a knockout. Tyler Moore struck out three over 2.1 while Joey Guarienti came in for 3.1 innings of relief. Chris Albee finished game one with 1.1 frames.
Game Two, 9-4
The second game of the day and series began in a different fashion than the first. Neither team scored in the first two frames and runs looked harder to get then the opening meeting. Vanguard did strike first in the top of the third without a hit. With two outs, the Lions reached on two walks, a fielder's choice and scored from a bases loaded hit by pitch, 1-0. The lead did not last long with the Warriors putting in small ball work in the bottom of the inning. Hirayama reached on an error and later scored from an RBI single by Antone, 1-1. With runners on the corners, Hall laid down a risky bunt that scored Montero from third for an RBI-bunt single, 2-1.
In the fourth, Jessup exploded for seven runs off of seven hits. Plaut roped a ball into the right field alley to lead off the inning. Cole Hazel singled up the middle to advance Plaut who would score from an Adam Reyes double, 3-1. Later in the inning, Montero knocked in Reyes, 4-1. Hall hit a two bagger down the left field line to score two and add to his RBI count, 6-1. Tony Otis put the finishing touches on the inning as he launched a home run to left field, 9-1. Vanguard plated three in the top of the ninth but it was not enough to threaten the Jessup advantage as the Warriors took game two, 9-4.
While the bats got into a rhythm once again, pitching was the story for game two. Diego Chavez started on the mound and shoved 6.0 no-hit innings, struck out four and only allowed one run. Gavin Guard finished the night for the Warriors. Head Coach Trevor Paine spoke about Chavez's successful start, We needed Diego to eat up innings after game one and that's exactly what he did. He put us in a much better position for tomorrow with his ability to go so deep into game two."
Paine commented on the team's offensive explosions, "I was really happy with how we continued to put pressure on them all day. A lot of different guys took good at bats and we need to carry that into tomorrow." Finally he commented on threats up and down the lineup, "I think our depth is one of our strengths so we need to try to use it to our advantage."
Jessup and Vanguard will continue their four-game series Saturday, February 14th. First pitch from McBean Park will be at 11:00 AM with game two slated for 2:30 AM.
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Jessup University is a member of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Division II and the PacWest Conference. For additional information regarding Jessup Athletics, visit www.jessupathletics.com; visit www.jessup.edu for more information on Jessup University. Follow Jessup Athletics on social media: Jessup University Athletics (Facebook) and @JessupAthletics (Instagram & X).
