Riverside Barrels Past L.A. Harbor for Second-Straight Win

After the Tigers pushed their wins' total to double digits on Tuesday, the Riverside City College baseball squad looked to keep the wins rolling in at a rapid rate by hosting the Los Angeles Harbor Seahawks in non-conference action on Wednesday afternoon at home. The Tigers jumped on the board in the bottom of the first inning and continued on to plate eight runs off 10 hits leading to an 8-3 victory.

Riverside found themselves in a great position in the bottom of the first inning by loading the bases with nobody out. Sophomore shortstop Shane Martinez (Riverside, CA) put the Tigers on the board with a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring freshman first baseman Dylan Kanoho (Honolulu, HI) who reached base via leadoff walk. Sophomore catcher Andrew Jurado (Riverside, CA) followed with an RBI double down the left-field line to plate freshman left fielder Joseph Hodapp (Murrieta, CA) to snag an early two-run lead.

Sophomore starter Gary Fayard (Corona, CA) settled in nicely in the following four innings as he pitched to contact and utilized a flawless defense. He kept the Seahawks from scoring through his first four innings.

After scoring the game's first run, Kanoho put on his RBI hat and poked a two-out single through the middle scoring freshman pinch hitter Mario Gonzalez (Fontana, CA). Gonzalez sparked the two-out rally with a single to right fielder.

Despite the Seahawks etching two runs on the board in the top of the eighth inning, the Tigers took advantage of a handful of L.A. Harbor errors that saw three runs come across. Hodapp added a two-RBI double that shaved the inside of the third-base line in the bottom of the eighth to put the final nail in the coffin en route to an 8-3 win.

Fayard (2-0) picked up the win after tossing 4.1 innings and allowing a lone run off five hits. He struck out one batter as well. Freshman reliever Alexander Salazar (Ohni, Japan) tossed 1.2 solid innings of relief by not allowing a single base knock. He fanned two batters in the process.

Hodapp carted the hot stick and pushed his batting average to a whopping .432 by going 2-for-4 with a double, two walks, two RBI, and two runs scored. Freshman right fielder Junior Coleman (San Diego, CA), sophomore center fielder Erick Rayford (San Diego, CA), and Kanoho each barreled two hits as well.

The Tigers (11-3) will kick off a two-game series against the Mt. San Antonio College Mounties on Friday, February 23^rd on the road at 5 p.m. They will return home to following Saturday for a 5 p.m. game.