COSTA MESA, Calif. – The Warrior offense was out in full force on Friday in No. 4 LC State Baseball's 16-3 rout of No. 13 Vanguard University.
Sam Linscott had an impressive day at the plate with four hits and six RBI. Three Warriors homered and the LC pitching staff had another strong showing on the mound. With the win, the Warriors improved to 2-0 to start the season.
Nick Seamons demolished his first home run as a Warrior to begin the top of the second, sending the ball over the 70-foot netting in left.
Dawson Day and the LC defense did their part to keep LC in front with a strikeout and defensive gems.
Linscott singled to left before stealing second, and a walk to
Dominic Signorelli put two on with no outs.
A.J. Davis added on to the Warrior lead with a bases-clearing double before scoring on an error on a ball hit by
Aidan Nagle. LC State led 4-0 heading into the bottom of the third.
The Warriors worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the home half of the inning. Day retired the first batter with a strikeout before allowing a hit and two free passes. A pair of flyouts to Linscott in left ended the threat and send LC back to the plate.
Linscott broke the game wide open with a three-run shot in the top of the fourth. A walk to catcher
Matt James got things going and
Alex Light took over on the bases as the courtesy runner.
Justin Mazzone kept things going with a base hit up the middle before Linscott stepped to the plate to launch his first homer of the season.
The inning continued when
Dominic Signorelli walked and
Riley Way was hit by a pitch. Davis carried the momentum into his second extra-base hit of the day, picking up two more RBI with a triple into the gap in right center. After walks to
Aidan Nagle and Seamons loaded the bases, James plated the 10
th run of the game with a single to left as LC batted around. Linscott capped the eight-run inning with a two-run single to grow the lead to 12-0. He tied an LC State record with five RBI in the inning.
The LC State defense erased a one-out walk with a double play to end the fourth inning.
Nagle continued the offensive onslaught with an RBI-double to plate Davis in the Warriors' half of the fifth inning.
Jake Taylor handed the ball to
Brooks Juhasz in the fifth and the senior struck out the first batter he faced on the season. Isiah Lee homered for the Lions, but another strikeout by Juhasz closed out the inning with LC State leading 13-1.
The Lions put together four straight hits to begin their half of the sixth to tack on a run. A line drive snagged by Signorelli at third and a double play turned by Davis, Way and White ended the threat.
Cameron Smith took over on the mound in the seventh for a 1-2-3 inning, and
Luke White put another Warrior run on the board with a solo home run to left in the bottom of the inning. James and Mazzone tallied back-to-back singles. Linscott continued his tear with an RBI-double to make it 15-2.
Jaden Phillips showed off his arm in the left field in the bottom of the eighth to throw out a runner trying to stretch a single to a double, and Smith ended the inning with a punchout.
LC did not let up in the ninth and tacked on another run. Nagle singled to lead things off before taking second on a base hit by
Coy Stout. A pinch-hit single by
Lucas Gregory brought in the 16
th run of the game for the Warriors.
Vanguard struck for one more in the ninth before Smith closed things out.
Linscott had a big day at the plate going 4-for-5 with six RBI, a double and a home run. Davis went 2-for-5 with four RBI and scored three runs. Six Warriors recorded multiple hits in the contest.
"Offensively we were a bit more relaxed and began to get back to a mid-field approach," Taylor explained. "Still lots of room for improvement all the way around."
Day earned his first win as a Warrior after striking out two in four innings. He did not allow a run. Juhasz and Smith each struck out a pair and neither walked a batter.
"We had another quality start today, this time from Dawson," Taylor said. "He competed and was ready for his first start. Brooks and Cam held Vanguard bats in check the rest of the way."
The Warriors face their second ranked opponent this week on Saturday in a twin bill with No. 16 Hope International. First pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m. in Fullerton, Calif.
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