IRVINE, Calif. – The Riptide weathered an early storm, clawed back from a four-run deficit, and walked it off in dramatic fashion, beating the MLB Academy Barons 6–5 in a thrilling, come-from-behind win at home.
Down 5–1 entering the bottom of the seventh, the ‘Tide’s bats came alive late, scoring five unanswered runs across the final three innings. Grant MacArthur and Marcos Rosales each came through with clutch ninth-inning singles, while Bradley Navarro delivered the game-winning RBI with a sharp ground ball through the right side, sealing the walk-off.
The Barons jumped out early with a leadoff homer in the first and added three more in the second off starter Brandon Tatch, who went just two innings. Despite giving up five runs, the ‘Tide’s bullpen was rock solid. Dane Grant delivered four scoreless innings with six strikeouts, followed by clean frames from Jack Morissey and Hauze Fragoso, who kept the deficit within reach entering the ninth.
“To keep them there at four runs for those four innings was huge for us,” said head coach Bryan Evans, reflecting on Grant’s performance out of the bullpen.
After stranding runners early and striking out 10 times through five innings, the ‘Tide found their rhythm late, capitalizing on a balk, an error, and aggressive at-bats to slowly chip away at the lead.
Offensively, MacArthur led the charge with three hits and an RBI. Jack Salmon and Navarro each added key extra-base hits, while Tyler Holland and Reid Montgomery kept the pressure on with timely baserunning.
Navarro, who has been one of the ‘Tide’s most consistent hitters as of late, said he was “just trying to do the same thing, I just needed to put the ball in play” regarding his walk-off at-bat. He wasn’t in the starting lineup but came in to pinch hit for Luke Johnson in the bottom of the eighth.
The Riptide will look to extend their win streak to three on Tuesday at 6 p.m. when they’ll take on the Santa Barbara Foresters.
