IRVINE, Calif. – On a Taylor Swift-themed evening, the OC Riptide made it a cruel summer night for the Arroyo Seco Saints, defeating the visiting Saints 14-1 in a decisive victory.
The Riptide pitching staff put together an impressive performance with OC starter, left-hander Seth Spencer, starting the night off strong by holding the Saints scoreless through the first 3 ⅔ innings.
With the Saints threatening in the fourth with the bases loaded, Riptide reliever Jared Glenn came in out of the bullpen and got OC out of the jam without allowing any runs. Glenn continued to pitch for an additional two more innings only allowing one run on two hits while striking out three.
After the sixth, the Riptide held the Saints scoreless the final three innings, as the trio of Sam Hasegawa (University of California San Diego), Tommy Mcguire (Cypress College) and Jack Bunnel (University of San Diego) shut the door on Arroyo Seco.
Manager Connor Spencer was especially pleased with how his bullpen attacked the strike zone early in counts.
“That’s one of our best bullpen performances I’d say so far,” Spencer said. “Just based off coming out and being aggressive with the strike zone, we’ve struggled with throwing some strikes out of the pen [this season]… the guys tonight came out and were aggressive right away.”
At the plate, the Riptide bats were a bit slower to get started but found success in the fourth inning.
Outfielder Jack Hammond continued his hot start to the season by starting the Riptide off in the fourth with a single.
Newcomer, catcher Matt Spear (San Jose State University), brought home Hammond on a fielders choice to get the Riptide on the board and give OC a 1-0 lead.
In the next at-bat, infielder Nathan Cadena smashed an RBI double and was later balked home to give the Riptide a 3-0 advantage after the first four frames.
After a few missed opportunities in the next two innings, OC was poised to break open the game with a 4-1 lead heading into the seventh.
In the seventh inning, the Riptide tacked on two more runs, as a Spear RBI single brought home one, while the Saints walked home another to extend the Riptide lead to 6-1.
However, the Riptide put the exclamation point on the night in the eighth inning with an eight-run frame.
Carson McEntire hit a bases-clearing double in the eighth that contributed three runs to an overall eight-run inning. (Photo courtesy Dingers Photography)
The inning was highlighted by three RBI extra-base hits for designated hitter Carson McEntire (Oregon State University) and outfielder Michael Diaz (Grand Canyon University).
Diaz finished the night 3-6 at the plate with 3 RBIs and two extra-base hits to help the Riptide close out a 14-1 win over the Saints.
He credited his hitting success to, “staying confident in my abilities, taking good swings and trusting the process,” Diaz said.
With the win, the Riptide improved to 10-6 on the year, and have won seven of their last eight, as they have seemed to hit their stride now a few weeks into the season.
“We’re working well together right now,” Diaz said. “Everything’s working from inside the dugout to the field, so I think the team’s coming together and we’re putting together some good games now.”
The Riptide will look to continue their hot stretch and complete a weekend sweep of the Saints tomorrow in Pasadena at 6 p.m.
