No. 11 Baseball Rides Starting Pitching, Timely Offense in SoCal Playoff Win

The Riverside City College baseball team hit the road in the first round of the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Southern California Regionals against the Bakersfield College Renegades. The Tigers rode an outright dominant performance from sophomore starting pitcher Daniel Martinez mixed in with timely offense en route to a 5-0 victory in game one of a best-of-three game series.

D. Martinez tossed a strong eight innings where he allowed only a pair of hits. Despite walking six batters, he forced the Renegades to strand 10 runners on base. He did not allow his first hit until the seventh inning and retired the side in the fifth inning that included one strikeout.

The Tigers got busy on the offensive front in the top of the second inning after putting runners in scoring position. Freshman second baseman Diego Guerrero barreled a single to center field, plating sophomore shortstop Shane Martinez to snag a one-run lead.

Riverside continued to produce in the top of the second inning with freshman left fielder Joseph Hodapp smacking a RBI single to left field, plating freshman first baseman Dylan Kanoho. S. Martinez followed with a single to center, scoring D. Martinez, to enhance their lead to 3-0.

Kanoho continued to put himself in scoring position in the top of the fifth inning with ease. After wearing a pitch and being awarded first base, he promptly swiped second base and third base. He came around to score on a single from D. Martinez.

The Tigers added an insurance run in the top of the eighth inning as S. Martinez launched his first homerun of the season. Sophomore closer Graham Kuck entered into the game in the bottom of the ninth and slammed the door by fanning two batters en route to a 5-0 victory.

Martinez earned the win after his dominant performance on the bump.  Kanoho continued to cart a hot stick by going 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a pair of stolen bases. Sophomore center fielder Erick Rayford went 2-for-4 as well.

The Tigers (26-15, 1-0 CCCAA playoffs) will look to close out the series in game two on Saturday, May 5^th at 1 p.m. If necessary, the third game will follow approximately 30 minutes after the first game.