Briefs: Lions No. 2 seed in GSAC baseball tournament

The Vanguard University baseball team that was second in the Golden State Athletic Conference regular season, its highest finish since 1993, will be the No. 2 seed in the five-team GSAC Tournament that begins Monday at Westmont College.

Coach Rob Pegg’s No. 13-ranked Lions (37-13-1, 22-8 in conference), will play No. 3-seeded The Master’s College (34-16, 19-11) in the opening round on Monday at noon.

The double-elimination tournament continues Tuesday, Wednesday and, if necessary, Thursday, with the winner earning an automatic berth into the NAIA regional playoffs.

Vanguard, which reached the NAIA World Series last season, is a lock to earn an at-large berth into the NAIA regionals, Pegg said, should it not claim the GSAC Tourney title.

No. 6-ranked Westmont (41-9, 25-5) is the top seed after winning the regular-season conference crown. The Warriors meet the winner of the tournament-opening game on Monday at 3 p.m.

No. 4-seeded Menlo (33-20, 16-14) faces No. 5-seeded Biola (28-25, 15-15) to open the tournament on Monday at 9 a.m.

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UCI’s Surrey lauded

UC Irvine senior Elliot Surrey has been named Big West Conference Pitcher of the Week in baseball.

The left-hander threw a complete-game shutout in a 2-0 conference home win over Cal State Fullerton on Friday. He allowed five hits, walked two and struck out seven.

It was his first win in conference play this season and improved his record to 3-4. It was the 18th win of his career and lowered his earned-run average this season to 3.43.

Surrey is scheduled to start Friday at UCLA.

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Three Lions honored

Kaitlin Estes, Alexandra Olvera and Taylor Wilson represent Vanguard University on the All-Golden State Athletic Conference softball team.

Estes, a sophomore shortstop, hit .355 with 61 hits, four home runs, 31 runs batted in and 10 stolen bases for the Lions (34-22, 14-10 in conference). She led the Lions with 12 doubles and her .529 slugging percentage was also tops on the team.

Olvera, a senior pitcher, led the GSAC with 17 regular-season wins and finished 17-8 with a 1.91 earned-run average. She struck out 98 in 165 1/3 innings and her 14 complete games included two shutouts. She helped the Lions lead the GSAC in regular-season ERA (2.47), appearing in 28 games and starting 25.

Wilson, a junior left fielder, hit .388 with a team-best 69 hits. She had 20 RBIs and stole 14 bases in 15 attempts, the former ranking second on the team.

Arizona Christian swept the conference individual honors with senior outfielder Abigail Beasley earning Player of the Year laurels and senior Jackie Aguilar being named Pitcher of the Year.

ACU’s Trista Thurston was named Coach of the Year.

— From staff reports