Nares Tosses Complete Game Shutout Leading to First Conference Victory
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Golden West | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
|
Riverside | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 8 | 0 |
The Riverside City College softball team entered into this afternoon's contest against the Golden West College Rustlers in search for its first Orange Empire Conference (OEC) victory of the season. The Tigers dominated from the first inning on behind strong pitching and quality hitting leading to an 8-0 mercy rule victory.
Freshman starting pitcher Marissa-Lena Nares took the reins from the get go and steered the team to success. She began her outing by retiring the side in order highlighted by a pair of ground outs sandwiched between a fly out. She followed by retiring the side in the top of the third inning with a strikeout to kick off the streak. She allowed just one hit in the fourth, but retired the following seven batters in a row.
The Tigers immediately struck in the bottom of the first inning with a three spot. Freshman shortstop Karter Williams pushed across freshman center fielder Samantha Peluffo on a sacrifice fly out to center field. Sophomore first baseman Jocelyn Ontiveros followed by drawing a bases-loaded walk, backed by a fielder choice from freshman designated player Zinaida Preciado, scoring sophomore third baseman Danielle Lopez, leading to a 3-0 advantage.
Riverside followed with four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning as freshman left fielder Loreal Fuerte crossed home on a single to right center field from freshman right fielder Dani Melendez. Peluffo scored for the second time of the game on a passed ball. Williams followed with a two-out RBI triple, backed by a single from Lopez, eventually leading to an 8-0 win.
Nares (1-1) earned her first-career victory in the circle by tossing a one-hit shutout. She fanned three batters and tossed just 77 pitches.
Williams lead the offense by going 2-for-3 with a double, triple, two RBI and one run scored. Melendez matched her 2-for-3 day with three runs scored and an RBI.
Riverside (8-8, 1-4 OEC) will continue action on the road Wednesday, March 6 against the Santiago Canyon College Hawks at 3 p.m.