Glendale, Ariz. - Eli Elliott and the Arizona Christian defense stood tall against #17 Vanguard, striking out 17 Lions' batters and hanging on for a 3-1 win at Greenway High School. The ending strikeout count was a season high for the Firestorm and the Lions entered the game averaging 7.4 runs per game.

Kane Kiaunis registered the deciding blow in the Friday-night contest, sending two Firestorm runners home on a double in the third inning. Jaylen Edmonds did not record a hit in the ball game, but scored the team's third and final run via a walk and eventual wild pitch.

Elliott was fantastic in his sixth start of 2024, throwing five scoreless innings in which he punched out seven Vanguard batters and only allowed three hits. The latest outing gifted number eight his second win of the season.

Trey Tarver was versatile as ever, leading the Firestorm with two hits (one double), converting five put-outs at first base and collecting his second save on the mound with two strikeouts in the ninth.

Arizona Christian picked up its second consecutive win over Vanguard, the previous being a GSAC postseason game in Irvine, California.

GAME INFO

Score: RV Arizona Christian 3 | #17 Vanguard 1
Records: RV ACU 10-8 (4-3 GSAC) | #17 VU 13-6 (3-3 GSAC)
Location: Greenway High School - Glendale, AZ

STAT TRACKER

Trey Tarver - 2 hits, 1 double
Kane Kiaunis - 1 hit, 2 RBIs, 1 double
Sean Garcia - 1 hit, 1 double
Matthew Beckworth - 1 hit, 1 run
Eli Elliott - 5.0 IP, 0 RA, 7 SOs

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE

Through two innings, the Firestorm had not recorded a hit with only Marques Titialii reaching on a walk. Elliott rung up four batters between the innings, stranding five Lions on base. It appeared to be trouble in the second with bases loaded after Elliott's third walk of the night, but he remained calm under pressure and struck out VU's Nino Vultaggio to escape unscathed.

Elliott made easier work of the third, forcing two groundouts to shortstop Beckworth and second baseman Garcia and tallying his fifth strikeout to sit Vanguard down in order. Beckworth led of the ACU third with a single to left center. A few batters later, Titialii was hit by a pitch and suddenly the bases were loaded in the Firestorm's favor. With two outs on the scoreboard, Kiaunis rapped a double to the left field fence and scored Beckworth and Justin Colon (courtesy runner for Ryan Eastham).

Following a scoreless fourth frame (three up, three down for both sides), Elliott avoided giving up his first run of the contest (runners on first and second) with a flyout to left. Edmonds got the fifth started with a walk and Tarver advanced him to third base with a hard-hit single through the middle. A wild pitch by VU's Spencer Edmondson gave Edmonds a free-pass to home plate. Any hope at increasing the lead further (3-0) was put to bed with a Kiaunis groundout and Jared Anderson pop-up to right field.

Two more Lions were left on base in the sixth and ACU was sat down in order. Evan Hieb, the second Firestorm reliever after Chay Esqueda, struck out his first batter in the seventh but conceded a home run right after to Vultaggio. The southpaw was not shaken, and he proceeded to punch out the next two and got out of the inning. Tarver doubled with two outs already recorded but was stranded after a Kiaunis groundout.

Harrison Howell, who relieved Hieb, was part of a huge second out in the eighth in which he and Tarver caught Chris Famolaro stealing. Sean Garcia notched ACU's third extra-base hit with a double in the same inning.

Tarver was tasked to get the final three outs of the ball game. He struck out his first batter and influenced the following groundout. Despite two quick outs, Tarver was not out of the woods yet with Vultaggio continuing his standout play, singling and the next batter (Noah Madole) being hit by a pitch. Facing a 2-2 count, the junior punched out the very next Lion and the team celebration was underway.  

THOUGHTS FROM COACH JOE MCDONALD

"I was really proud of how we took tonight pitch by pitch and handled ourselves well in pressure situations," Coach McDonald said.

NEXT FOR THE FIRESTORM

The Arizona Christian Firestorm enter Saturday's double header with a 1-0 series lead over Vanguard. A nine and seven-inning series finale begins at 4:00 PM from Greenway High School. Game two will start 30 minutes after game one's final out is recorded. Catch all the action with live stats at https://acufirestorm.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary and watch the broadcast at https://www.gsacsportsnetwork.com/azchristian/.  
    
                          
Roll Storm!