College Softball: VU seeded third for GSAC tourney

The Vanguard University softball team is the No. 3 seed in the Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament that begins Thursday.

The No. 16-ranked Lions (36-20, 14-10 in conference), finished third in the GSAC. They will play No. 6-seeded San Diego Christian (28-20, 11-13) in the opening round of the eight-team, double-elimination tournament at 9:30 a.m. at Concordia University in Irvine.

If Vanguard loses, it would play again Thursday at 2 p.m. If it wins in the opening round, it would play Friday at 11:45 a.m.

Coach Beth Renkoski’s Lions lost their last five games and nine of their last 10. They are led by senior Brittney Boggs, who is hitting .399 with five home runs, 56 runs batted in and 24 extra-base hits.

Senior Shelby Kuryllo (.376, nine homers, 50 RBIs), senior Breanne Gomez (.329, four homers, 32 RBIs) and sophomore Taylor Wilson (.324, 21 RBIs, seven stolen bases in seven attempts) are additional offensive standouts.

Senior Rachel Stalford (12-3 with a 2.31 earned-run average) and Alexandra Olvera (10-7, 2.36) are the primary pitchers.

No. 3-ranked Concordia (46-6, 20-4), and No. 20-ranked Biola (32-16, 16-8) are the top two seeds, respectively.

— Barry Faulkner