Ninth Inning Rally Not Enough in Season Opening Loss

The 2022 defending California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) State Champion Riverside City College baseball team took to the field for its season opener against the Cuesta College Cougars on home turf. The Tiger's bats came to life in the ninth inning by plating six runs, but the deficit was too large to overcome leading to a 12-8 defeat.

The ninth inning highlighted Riverside's night as they plated six runs in attempt to mount a comeback. Two consecutive walks drawn by freshman pinch hitter Dominic Dominguez and sophomore third baseman Sebastian Flores set the stage. Freshman designated hitter Bryce Cermenelli wore a pitch off the elbow on a high, inside fastball to load the bases. Freshman Christian Angulo, who entered as a pinch runner for Dominguez, came around to score on a wild pitch. Flores followed on a pass ball to plate two runs.

Sophomore center fielder Casey Murray Jr. stepped up with a runner on third and came in clutch a batter later and pieced a base hit up the middle, scoring Angulo. The inning continued with an RBI ground out from sophomore Rei Shobuya, scoring Murray Jr. Freshman first baseman Andrew Rodriguez capped the inning with an opposite field, two run blast for his first-career round tripper.

Sophomore starting pitcher and reigning Orange Empire Conference (OEC) Pitcher of the Year David Butler toed the slab and got banged around. He tossed four innings giving up five runs and striking out three. He was tabbed with the loss.

Sophomore reliever Rheego McIntosh did not have any success either by lasting just 2.1 innings and allowing an equal amount of runs on five hits. Sophomore reliver Caleb Anderson had the most success out of the bullpen by chucking two frames and recording three punchouts.

Offensively, the Tigers had 11 hits. Rodriguez went 3-for-3 with a homerun and two RBI while scoring one run. Freshman infielder Robert Phelps went 2-for-4 with a walk, while Cermenelli and Murray Jr. barreled two hits.

Riverside will host Cuesta tomorrow at 1 p.m. for the second game of a three-game series.