RCC Grabs Walk-Off Victory in 10 Innings
No. 10-ranked Riverside City College grinded out a 2-1, 10-inning victory over No. 22-ranked Irvine Valley College Thursday afternoon, guaranteeing its second conference series victory.
The Tigers improve to 18-5 on the year and take the top spot in the Orange Empire Conference standings with the only unblemished 5-0 conference record. The Lasers drop to 13-9 on the year, 0-5 in the OEC.
RCC finished with 10 hits in the game, led by Grant Gray, who went 3-for-5 with one RBI. Bubba Heidler posted with a 2-for-4 performance, while Luis Sosa went 2-for-2 and scored both runs for the Tigers.
IVC struck first with a run in the third, but Riverside tied the game in the bottom of the fifth.
With two outs and Sosa on second, Josh Chairez drilled a base hit to left center, allowing Sosa to sprint in for the tying run.
Still tied after nine innings, the Tigers grabbed the walk-off win in the bottom of the 10th, once again on a two-out rally. With Sosa back on second, Gray stepped up to the plate and found a gap on the left side to send Sosa in for the game-winning run.
Ryan Jenkins (6) and Charlie Ruggles (3) combined for nine strikeouts in the game, while Ruggles picked up the win for the Tigers.
RCC and IVC close out the series back in Irvine on Friday at 1 p.m.