Tigers Score Big in First At Bat and Last At Bat to Take Two, 7-1, and 3-1, from Cuesta Thursday

RIVERSIDE -- Scoring six runs in the bottom of the first inning of the first game and three runs in the bottom of the eighth in the second game, the Riverside City College (RCC) Tigers baseball team posted wins of 7-1 and 3-1 in a doubleheader sweep of the visiting Cuesta College Cougars Thursday afternoon (Feb. 16) at Samuel C. Evans Park.

The twinbill was necessitated when the regularly scheduled single games for Friday, Feb. 17, and Saturday, Feb. 18, were moved up to avoid the coming weekend rains.

Riverside City (9-5 overall) overcame a 1-0 deficit in the eighth inning of the nightcap. A pair of walks and a hit batsman loaded the bases for sophomore LF John Gonzalez (Corona - Corona HS '15) drew a walk to force in the tying run with no outs. A pair of sacrifice flies drove in the next two runs for the 3-1 final.

Sophomore LHP Blake Tuthill (Redlands / Redlands East Valley HS '14), who entered the game in the top of the eighth, pitched the final two frames and allowed only one walk with two strikeouts to improve to 4-0. Red-shirt freshman starting RHP David Barela (Redlands / Redlands East Valley HS '15) went the first 7.0 innings, scattered five hits, allowed the one run (earned), one walk and struck out four, but wound up with the no decision.

In the opener, RCC sandwiched three doubles around four singles in a six-run, first-inning explosion en route to the 7-1 win. Gonzalez went three for four to pace the Tigers.

RCC starting red-shirt sophomore RHP Matt Acosta (San Bernardino - Cajon HS '14) -- who is pictured -- went the first 7.0 innings, scattered seven hits, allowed the one run (unearned), walked none and struck out five to improve to 2-1.

Both teams return to action on, Tuesday, Feb. 21. Cuesta will host the College of the Sequoias and RCC will host the Mt. San Antonio College (MSAC) Mounties at 6 p.m.

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