Riverside Secures OEC Series from Cypress in Dominant Fashion
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
#11 Cypress | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
|
#8 Riverside | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | X | 7 | 10 | 2 |
No. 8-ranked Riverside City College closed its Orange Empire Conference series with No. 11-ranked Cypress College on Saturday, securing the series victory with a bang.
The Tigers (27-10, 13-5 OEC) dominated a 7-1 victory over the Chargers (23-14, 10-8 OEC), out-hitting the visitors 10-to-3.
Grant Gray led the Tigers with a 3-for-3 performance at the plate, while Bubba Heilder went 2-for-3 with four RBIs and Gavin Egan also went 2-for-3.
Cypress struck first with a run in the top of the third, but RCC responded right back in a big way in the bottom half of the frame.
With bases loaded and one out, Aiden Erlandsen (1-for-3) sacrificed a fly ball to score one runner before the Tigers loaded the bases once again. Heidler then stepped up to the plate, and just like he did the last time these two teams met, he turned on his second pitch and sent it over the fence in left, this time for a grand slam.
Riverside kept pushing and scored again in the sixth – off an RBI single from Egan – and seventh – a solo home run from Erlandsen – innings.
Jorge Rodriguez grabbed his seventh win of the year with seven innings on the mound, while Chris Romo and Charlie Ruggles each pitched an inning to contribute to the victory.
The Tigers have one last OEC series left on the docket before postseason begins, heading to Fullerton College on Tuesday to kick it off at 2 p.m.