COMPTON, Calif. – The Orange County Riptide have defeated the MLB Academy Barons 6-1 as the Riptide pitching staff strikeout 17 batters.
To begin the ballgame, starting pitcher Casey Euper (Pepperdine U) found himself in a jam early. After giving up a leadoff single and a walk, Euper was able to get out of the inning after a 6-4-3 double play.
To start the second inning, Zach Crandall (UC Irvine) singled to center field and ultimately came across the plate and scored after a Camden Burdick (Cal St Fullerton) single and a wild pitch. In the bottom half of the inning, Euper was able to strike out the side and negate any chances of the Barons scoring.
Isaac Cadena (USC) talking to Jake Lambdin (Duke) before hitting his solo home run
Photo Credits: Dominic Madonia
To lead off the third inning, Isaac Cadena (U Southern California) hit a towering home run over the right field wall. Fortunately for the Riptide, Euper was able to strike out two more batters and retire the side. In the top half of the fourth, Jake Lambdin (Duke U) was able to hit into a fielder’s choice to bring in Crandall from third and go up 3-0 against the Barons.
In the fifth inning, Luke Johnson (Cornell U) and Reid Montgomery (Cal St Long Beach) were both able to get hits and reach base safely. Crandall would then hit a sacrifice fly ball to right field to score Johnson from third. For the third time in the game, Euper was able to strike out the side and finish his outing with 11 strikeouts. When asked about what was working so well for Euper, he responded with the following, “I was able to get ahead, command felt great, and then I was able to just bring the breaking balls in whenever I needed to.”
The Riptide and the Barons were scoreless in the sixth and seventh innings but the Riptide were able to tack on another run in the top of the 8th after a Crandall double and a Bradley Navarro (U of Utah) single, making the game 5-0. In the top of the ninth inning, the Riptide were able to score their sixth run of the game after Crandall hit a ball that ate up the second baseman and led Johnson to cross home. The Barons made an effort to comeback in the bottom of the ninth but ultimately came up short only scoring one run, ending the game at 6-1.
The Riptide extend their win streak to five games and look to extend it to six tomorrow night against the San Diego Bombers at 7:00 p.m. in Irvine.
