Glendale, AZ - This Friday, at 3 pm Arizona time, the Firestorm baseball team gets their first try at Golden State Athletic Conference play as they will be in Costa Mesa, California taking on the #16 team in the nation, the Vanguard Lions.

Game Details

Arizona Christian vs #16 Vanguard

Dean Harvey Field - Costa Mesa, CA

Game 1 - Friday, Feb. 17, 2 PM

Game 2+3 (DH) - Saturday, Feb. 18, 11 AM

Live Coverage

Video - https://www.gsacsportsnetwork.com/azchristian/

Live Stats

• Game 1 - http://naiastats.prestosports.com/sports/bsb/2022-23/boxscores/20230217_ee00.xml

• Game 2 - http://naiastats.prestosports.com/sports/bsb/2022-23/boxscores/20230218_xita.xml

• Game 3 - http://naiastats.prestosports.com/sports/bsb/2022-23/boxscores/20230218_5jh8.xml

Arizona Christian

The Firestorm go into the start of conference play with a 9-3 record. They are also 3-2 in five games against top 25 teams so far, so the Firestorm shouldn't be wary of going against another ranked opponent. Starting Friday's game on the mound most likely will be Coach McDonald's ace, Adrian Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz has been impressive so far with a 2-1 record in three starts to begin the season and a 1.72 ERA. ACU was just .500 last year against conference opponents and 0-5 against the Vanguard Lions. What will be critical for the Firestorm is that the offense starts the games on a roll to give a nice cushion to the Firestorm starters. The top three in the lineup of Justin Ramirez, Daniel Durazo, and Marques Titialii are important for these starts against the Lions to set the tempo for the rest of the game. The Firestorm have 6 batters batting over .300 so far with Justin Ramirez and Enrique Porchas both batting at or above .400. 

ACU Key Players 

• Marques Titialii - .353 avg, 5 HRs, 19 RBIs

• Daniel Durazo - .459 OBP, 7 XBH, 13 RBIs

• Justin Ramirez - .444 avg, 24 hits, 8 2Bs

• Adrian Santa Cruz - 15.2 IP, 1.72 ERA, 21 Ks

• Bear Pinedo - 8.0 IP, 2.25 ERA, 11 Ks

Series Notes

In the history of these two programs, ACU is 12-29 against Vanguard all-time.  The last Firestorm victory dates back to April of 2019, when ACU Baseball swept a double-header over the Lions in Costa Mesa.  ACU has lost the last five matchups, but did not face off against Vanguard in the 2020 or 2021 seasons due to travel restrictions related to Covid.  The Firestorm tend to fare better against the Lions when playing on the road, posting a 9-10 away record compared to 3-18 when playing at home.  Those numbers point to a promising GSAC opening weekend in California.  

Vanguard

The Lions currently sit at 9-2 on the season following a Valentine's Day win over Saint Katherine.  Vanguard dropped two games in the NAIA Ball East/West Challenge to the same two teams that beat ACU, but other than that have been perfect this season.  In the GSAC Preseason Coaches Poll Vanguard was picked to finish 3rd in the conference, and they are currently ranked #16 in the NAIA Coaches Top 25 Poll.  Vanguard is out-scoring their opponents 74-36 on the year and will present a great test for the Firestorm this weekend.   

Roll Storm!