IRVINE, Calif. – The Orange County Riptide extended their stay in the win column Tuesday night, as they defeated the San Diego Bombers 10-2 at home.
Starting pitcher Josh Hickey picked up his first win of the season in Tuesday’s redemption rematch with the Bombers, in which he pitched five shutout innings and did not issue any walks.
“I threw a lot of strikes, got ahead in the count, and just made it easy for my defense,” Hickey said.
The Riptide got on the board early in the game when an RBI single from Camden Sos scored Bradley Navarro, and an overthrow to second by the Bombers catcher allowed Jake Evans to come around to score in the bottom of the first inning. After seven batters came to the plate, the Riptide ended the inning with a 2-0 lead.
In the bottom of the third inning, a walk put Sos on base before Reid Montgomery hit his first home run of the summer, a 2-run shot to right-center field, to put the Riptide up 4-0.
“I was just looking to get a pitch I could do damage on, and I got the pitch and I did the damage,” Montgomery said.
The ‘Tide did not score again until the bottom of the sixth inning when a single from Camden Burdick and a pair of walks issued to Navarro and Evans loaded the bases for Sos, who also walked, which forced in a run. Montgomery’s bat was reignited this inning, as he came to the plate next and singled to bring two more runs across. The scoring in the bottom of the sixth inning didn’t end there, as Colby Moran sent a sacrifice fly to right field to score Sos and widen the Riptide’s lead to 8-0.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, a walk was issued to Navarro, who stole second base before Evans brought him in on an RBI double to give the ‘Tide a 9-0 lead.
The Riptide narrowly escaped the game unscathed, but in the top of the eighth inning, a Bombers two-RBI single off of pitcher Riley Hunsaker brought the score to 9-2. The top of the eighth inning also saw the Riptide’s only walk issued in the game.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, the ‘Tide answered back with a leadoff triple from Montgomery and an RBI single from Moran, which sealed their 10-2 victory.
“It’s always good to win a ball game. They’re a good team, and we pitched very well today; we limited the freebies,” Head Coach Bryan Evans said. “The first game, we had, I think, six or seven walks, so I think we turned it around on the pitching side, and we swung the bats very well today.”
The Riptide will face the Malibu Marlins at 6 p.m. at home on Wednesday, June 11, in hopes of extending their winning streak to three.
