Tigers Top Taft, 10-7, in Non-conference Win Thursday Night

RIVERSIDE -- Five Tigers had at least two hits and three of those either had two runs scored and/or two RBI as the host Riverside City College (RCC) Tigers baseball team defeated a pesky bunch of Taft College Cougars, 10-7, Thursday evening (Mar. 24) in a non-conference game at the Evans Sports Complex.

Riverside City (13-8 overall) scored an unearned run in the first inning and then erupted for five runs in the fourth to break a 1-1 tie. After Taft closed to within 6-4 with a trio of runs in the fifth, the Tigers scored twice in the bottom of the fifth for an 8-4 lead. Again, Taft inched closer, this time at 8-6, in the top of the eighth before RCC pushed across another pair of scores for a 10-6 lead.

Highlighting the bottom of the fourth were a two-run single by freshman CF Sean Smith (Highland / Redlands HS '13) and a RBI triple by  freshman 1B John Gonzalez (Corona / Corona HS '15). The fifth inning was highlighted by a RBI triple and a run scored by sophomore LF Michael Darr (Corona / Santiago HS '14). In the eighth inning, sophomore RF Garrison Cole (Palm Desert / Xavier Prep. '13) hit a RBI double and scored an unearned run.

Cole went two for five with two runs scored and two RBI, Darr went two for four with two runs and two RBI, and Smith went two for five with one runs scored and two RBI.

For Taft (7-14 overall), freshman catcher Richard Ortiz (Ponce, PR) went two for five with two runs scored and one RBI. Sophomore 1B Shane Kotz (Bakersfield) socked a two-run home run over the left-field wall, his first round tripper of the season, in the eighth inning.

Freshman LHP Bailey Chesterton (Riverside / M.L. King HS '15), the third of six RCC pitchers, received credit for the win. He pitched 1-1/3 innings and allowed only one hit (no runs) and one walk to improve to 1-1. Taft sophomore starting LHP Matt Rogers (Las Vegas, NV) pitched the first 4.0 innings and allowed eight runs (seven earned) on eight hits and two walks as his record fell to 0-2.

Taft will visit the Pasadena City College Lancers on Friday. Mar. 25, at 1 p.m. Riverside will be idle until Tuesday, Mar. 29, when it visits the Santa Ana College Dons when it resumes Orange Empire Conference (OEC) action in a 2 p.m. start.

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