RCC Drops Close OEC Battle
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
#3 Santa Ana | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 2 |
|
#6 Riverside | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 2 |
Two of the top teams in not just the Orange Empire Conference, but the 3C2A as a whole, squared off on Tuesday. No. 6-ranked Riverside City College battled but ultimately fell 4-3 to No. 3-ranked Santa Ana College.
The Tigers drop to 22-7 on the year and 8-2 in the OEC, while the Dons improve to 26-2-1 overall and 9-1 in conference.
Grant Gray led RCC with a 2-for-4 performance at the plate, while Josh Chairez (1-for-3), Aiden Erlandsen (1-for-4), Bubba Heidler (1-for-4), Noah Haros (1-for-3) and Isaac Castanon (1-for-1) also had hits for the Tigers.
Santa Ana scored first, but RCC answered right back with two runs in the bottom of the first. With a runner on third and no outs, Luis Sosa drove the tying run in before Gray came home on a Heidler double.
The Dons tied the game in the sixth and took the lead in the seventh, but Castanon came up big with a pinch-hitter home run to tie the game in the bottom half of the seventh, 3-3.
Momentum shifted in the top of the eighth, however, as Santa Ana managed to take back the lead and held on for the 4-3 victory.
Riverside has the chance to even up the series as it heads to Santa Ana for a 2 p.m. contest on Thursday. The two teams then close out the three-game stand back in Riverside on Friday, with first pitch set for 1 p.m.