Sodders Goes the Distance, Tigers Top Saddleback, 4-1, Thursday

RIVERSIDE -- Austin Sodders tossed his second complete game of the season as the Riverside City College (RCC) Tigers baseball team evened its record in Orange Empire Conference (OEC) play with a 4-1 home win over the visiting Saddleback College (SC) Gauchos Thursday (Mar. 5) afternoon at the Evans Sports Complex.

Riverside (14-3 overall, 2-2 OEC) scored a pair of runs in the second inning for a 2-0 lead. Saddleback scored in the third and the score remained at 2-1 until the bottom of the eighth when the Tigers scored a pair of insurance runs.

Sodders, a sophomore starting LHP from Moreno Valley - Canyon Springs, scattered seven hits, allowed the one run (earned), walked none and struck out two to improve to 4-0. With the route-going effort, Sodders lowered his earned run average to 1.38 in 39.0 innings pitched.

In the second inning, freshman 1B Israel Fuentes (Chino Hills HS) singled and scored on a RBI single by sophomore SS Anthony Ayala (Fontana / Fontana HS). Sophomore 2B Austin Monte (Corona / Santa Ana - Mater Dei HS) reached first on an infield error and scored an unearned run on another infield error off the bat of freshman OF Garrison Cole (Palm Desert) for the 2-0 lead.

For Saddleback (12-5 overall, 2-2 OEC), SS Colby Schultz hit a "leg" double and scored on a RBI single off the bat of RHP/DH Brett Barker. Barker pitched the first seven innings plus for the Gauchos and allowed nine hits, three runs (two earned), walked none and struck out five.

In the eighth, sophomore LF David Schuknecht (Palm Desert HS), tripled into left-center field gap and scored on a sacrifice fly to left field for a 3-0 RCC lead. Later in the frame, Ayala walked and later scored on a wild pitch for final 4-1 margin.

Schuknecht went two for four and Ayala went two for three to pace the Tigers.

Schultz, Barker and CF Cole Stanton each had two hits for the Gauchos.

Through 17 games, among regulars, Ayala leads RCC in hitting at .3651 (23 for  63), just .0002 ahead of freshman 3B Brody Weiss at .3649 (27 of 74). As a team, RCC is hitting .309 (Opponents: .237) and RCC's team ERA is 3.07 (Opponents: 5.62).

Both teams continue OEC action on Saturday, Mar. 7, at 12 p.m. when Saddleback visits the Fullerton College Hornets and RCC hosts the Cypress College Chargers.

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