Sodders Eight Shut-out Innings; Riverside City Blanks Visiting Irvine Valley, 5-0, Saturday

RIVERSIDE -- Austin Sodders hurled eight shut-out innings and the Riverside City College (RCC) Tigers baseball team had some timely hitting en route to a 5-0 Orange Empire Conference (OEC) home victory over the visiting Irvine Valley College (IVC) Lasers Saturday (Mar. 21) afternoon at the Evans Sports Complex.

Riverside (16-7 overall, 4-6 OEC) scored single runs in the first, sixth and seventh innings, and two in the fifth in support of Sodders, a sophomore starting LHP from Moreno Valley - Canyon Springs HS, who scattered three hits, walked one and struck out six and did not allow a Laser to reach third base.
Octavio Lara (St. John Bosco HS) pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to finish the game.

With the eight-inning effort, Sodders improved his won-lost record to 6-0 and lowered his earned run average to 1.01 in 53.1 innings pitched.

In the first inning, sophomore CF Logan Griffin (Apple Valley / Oak Hills HS) doubled to right-center field with two outs and scored on a RBI single by freshman 1B Israel Fuentes (Chino Hills HS) and RCC led, 1-0.

In the fifth, the Tigers scored a pair of insurance runs when freshman C Tommy Pincin (Upland / Upland HS) singled and scored on a balk. One pitch later, sophomore RF David Robles walked and scored on a wild pitch. And that proved to be more enough for Sodders.

Griffin, Fuentes and Pincin each had two hits to pace RCC.

For Irvine Valley (13-10 overall, 5-5 OEC), freshman C Branden Williams (Huntington Beach HS) had two of the Lasers' three hits with singles in the second and seventh. Freshman starting RHP Joseph Chacon (El Modena HS) went the first 4-1/3 innings and allowed five hits, three runs (earned) and walked one as his record fell to 2-3.

Both teams continue OEC action on Tuesday, Mar. 24, at 2 p.m. when RCC visits Irvine Valley for the finale of the three-game OEC season series.

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