IRVINE, Calif. – The Orange County Riptide have defeated the Colton Nighthawks 9-6 in a Thursday night game at The Great Park in Irvine, California.
To begin the ballgame, Camden Burdick beat out a ground ball to the shortstop and reached first base safely. Burdick then stole second, third, and home to generate a run by himself. To respond, the Nighthawks were able to score a run in the top of the second courtesy of a sacrifice fly ball, making the game 1-1 after two innings.
In the third inning, the Nighthawks were able to tack on two runs with a bases loaded walk and a sacrifice fly ball, making the score 3-1. The Riptide were able to answer with three runs of their own to retake the lead. The inning started with a double from Henry McDonald and a walk from Burdick. Marcos Rosales then hit a single through the 5-6 gap scoring McDonald from third base. After that, Grant MacArthur hit into a fielder’s choice that scored Burdick from third. For the last run of the inning, Brady Petit hit a sacrifice fly ball to center to score Rosales. The Riptide led 4-3 after three innings.
To start the fourth inning, Jace Behnke came in to relieve Alex Ramos and ultimately gave up two runs, giving the Nighthawks a 5-4 lead. Unfortunately, the Riptide were unable to counter with any runs.
The fifth inning is where the bats came alive for the Riptide. With giving up one run in the top half of the inning, the Riptide were able to come back with four runs to retake the lead. Singles from MacArthur, Petit, and Birdsall along with doubles from Moran and Johnson, allowed the Riptide to score four runs and take a 8-6 lead heading into the sixth.
The Riptide pitching was lights out from here on out, only giving up two hits and striking out six. Jack Morrissey and Hauze Fragoso were both able to shutout the Nighthawks in the final four innings of the game.
The Riptide were able to tack on one more insurance run from a sacrifice fly ball from Birdsall that scored MacArthur after he singled and made his way around the bases. When asked about some difference makers from this game compared to the loss last night, Coach Evans responded with the following, “We were getting runs in, whether it be one at a time or multiple. Our productive at-bats were much better today.”
The Riptide look to get back-to-back home wins tomorrow night when they face off against the Oaks at 7 p.m.
