Sodders Pitches Complete Game as Tigers Tame Cuesta Cougars, 6-1, in Season Opener

RIVERSIDE -- Austin Sodders went the distance and his teammates exploded for five runs in the bottom of the eighth inning as the Riverside City College (RCC) Tigers baseball team posted a 6-1 nonconference win over the visiting Cuesta College Cougars Thursday evening (Jan. 29) at the Samuel C. Evans Sports Complex in the season opener for both clubs.

Sodders (1-0), a 6-4, 195 lb. sophomore LHP, nursed a 1-0 lead after 7-1/2 innings until Riverside (1-0 overall) exploded for five runs in the bottom of the eighth for a 6-0 lead.

Sodders retired the first two batters in the ninth until a high-hopper up the middle went for a single. T.K. McWhertor (Costa Mesa / Newport Harbor HS) then drilled a RBI double into left field to drive Josh Medina with the Cougars' only run. Sodders threw 94 pitches (64 strikes), allowed five hits, one run (earned), walked none and struck out four.

Sophomore SS Anthony Ayala singled to second base to open the bottom of the third inning, was sacrificed to second, advanced to third on a beautiful bunt single by Logan Griffin, and scored on a RBI fielder's choice off the bat of Garrison Cole.

In the bottom of the eighth, RCC parlayed four hits, a walk, a hit batter, a wild pitch and an infield error into five runs (four earned). Freshman catcher Thomas Pincin tripled in a run and scored on the aforementioned error to give the Tigers some breathing room.

Cuesta starting RHP Alex Fagalde (El Dorado Hills / Oak Ridge HS) went seven-plus innings and allowed six hits, five runs (all earned), with three walks and three strikeouts as his record fell to 0-1.

Both teams return to action on Friday, Jan. 30, for the second game of the three-game series which is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m.

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