COSTA MESA, Calif. — Stan State built an early lead behind strong performances at the plate from Eddie Perez, AJ Carter and Mason Kelley and held off a late Vanguard rally as Austin Balentine earned the win and Eli Blurton locked down the save, lifting the Warriors to a 7–6 victory Thursday afternoon at Dean Harvey Field to improve to 4–0 on the season.

Stan State built an early lead behind strong performances at the plate from Eric Perez, A.J. Carter and Mason Kelley and held off a late Vanguard rally as Austin Balentine earned the win and Eli Blurton recorded the save in a 7–6 victory Friday afternoon at Dean Harvey Field. The Warriors improved to 4–0 on the young season.

The Warriors (4-0) opened the scoring in the second inning when Perez launched a two-run home run to left field, bringing home Carter and giving the Warriors a 2–0 advantage. The Warriors added to the lead in the third inning with RBI singles from Kelley and Carter, pushing the margin to four.

Vanguard (2-2) answered with single runs in the third and fourth innings to trim the deficit to 4–2, but Stan State responded in the sixth with its biggest inning of the day. The Warriors scored three runs on four hits, highlighted by a two-RBI single from Jacob Reyes and an RBI double down the left-field line by Zach Lewis to extend the lead to 7–2.

Balentine (2–0) delivered a solid start, allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits over five innings while striking out four. With the victory, Balentine moved into a tie for 10th place on the Stan State career wins list with 17 and also tied for 10th in program history with 144 career strikeouts. Payton Hawkinson worked the next 2.2 innings before AJ Victoravich bridged the game to the ninth.

Vanguard made things interesting late, scoring three runs in the eighth inning and adding another in the ninth, but Blurton struck out two to close out the game and earn his first save of the season.

Stan State finished with 11 hits on the afternoon. Perez drove in two runs with his home run, Carter went 2-for-5 with an RBI and a stolen base, Kelley collected two hits and an RBI, Reyes drove in two runs, and Lewis added an RBI double.

Up Next
Stan State wraps up its three-game series with an 11 a.m. doubleheader Saturday in Costa Mesa, Calif., against Vanguard. The Warriors then return home to open an eight-game home=stand, beginning with a four-game series against Simpson, Feb. 13–15.