Posted: Apr 20, 2013
at Riverside City College Tigers 5, Santa Ana College Dons 0, (Orange Empire Conf.)
Santa Ana
(20-13, 7-12)
0
Riverside
(23-11, 12-7)
5
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Santa Ana | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 |
|
Riverside | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | X | 5 | 8 | 1 |
RIVERSIDE – David Schuknecht socked his team-leading fourth home run of the season and Edgar Gomez pitched a strong eight innings as the host Riverside City College (RCC) Tigers men's baseball team blanked the visiting Santa Ana College Dons, 5-0, in an Orange Empire Conference (OEC) game Saturday afternoon at the Evans Sports Complex.
The win by Riverside (23-11, 12-7 OEC) kept it in second place in the conference standings, two games behind first-place Fullerton (14-5 OEC) and one game ahead of third-place Saddleback (11-8 OEC) with two games (both against Saddleback next week) remaining in the regular season.
Santa Ana (20-13, 7-12 OEC) was only retired in order twice, but left only six runners on base as the Tigers turned four double plays.
RCC scored twice in the first, once in the fourth and twice in the seventh to lead from start to finish.
In the first, freshman RF Joshua Clark (Los Angeles / Hillcrest Christian HS) singled and scored on a double down the left-field line by sophomore 1B Daniel Arellano (Moreno Valley / Canyon Springs HS). Arellano scored on a RBI single by sophomore LHP-turned-DH Kenny Mathews (Diamond Bar / Diamond Bar HS / CSU Fullerton).
In the fourth, sophomore 3B Brandon Van Horn (La Canada Flintridge / St. Francis HS) singled, took second on a wild pitch and went to third when freshman 2B Changeng Varela (Chino / Chino HS) singled. Van Horn scored on an infield throwing error following Varela's hit. After a sacrifice bunt by freshman SS Nick King (Palm Springs / Palm Springs HS), Van Horn's run became an earned run. Van Horn went two for four with a run scored for Riverside.
In the seventh, Clark drew a walk and came home when freshman LF David Schuknecht (Palm Desert / Palm Desert HS / U. of Arizona) blasted his fourth round tripper of the season to cap the scoring.
Sophomore RHP Edgar Gomez (Indio / Indio HS / Long Beach State) went the first eight innings for RCC. He yielded zero runs, but allowed four hits and four walks. He struck out one and tossed 120 pitches (74 strikes) and improved to 8-1. Sophomore RHP Chris Oropesa (Rancho Cucamonga / Etiwanda HS) pitched the ninth. Santa Ana starting LHP Bryan Clough went the first four innings and was touched for three runs (all earned) on six hits and three walks, but struck out five as his record fell to 3-2. SAC freshman CF Ryan Aguilar had two of the Dons' five hits in four at bats.
Both teams continue OEC action on Tuesday, April 23. Santa Ana visits Cypress at 2 p.m. Riverside treks to Saddleback in Mission Viejo for a 6 p.m.