The Orange County Riptide punched their ticket to the CCL playoffs Sunday night at Great Park, walking-off against the Philippines Baseball Group to capture a 2-1 win.
Through eight innings, the Riptide left 12 runners on base, going 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position in the process.
The tides changed in the final inning, however.
Riptide designated hitter Bradley Navarro led off the bottom of the ninth with a double before advancing to third on a perfectly-executed sacrifice bunt by Ryan Castro.
First baseman Alonso Reyes then tripled down the right field line, scoring Navarro and tying the game.
“Nav did a really good job getting on base, then Stro dropped down a good bunt. Made it pretty easy for me to just hit the ball in the air,” Reyes said. “I saw a change up – he hung it.I hit it down the line and got a triple out of it.”
After Conner Barth was intentionally walked, Tomas Cernius, pinch hitting for Jarett Sabol, sent a deep fly ball into center field, delivering the walk-off sacrifice fly to give the Riptide a 2-1 victory.
“I just wanted to be calm and relaxed. It was obviously a big moment,” Cernius said. “Especially with less than two outs, I just got to put a good barrel on the ball, then I saw a pitch I thought I could hit. I just got a good swing on it. I wasn’t trying to do too much and it ended up being a really good result.”
After starting pitcher Andrew Harbour handled the Philippines swiftly in the top of the first, the Riptide threatened by loading the bases in the bottom half before failing to capitalize and leaving the runners stranded.
The Philippines followed suit in the second, loading the bases on three walks before Harbour struck out Ajani Wrighster for the final out.
Orange County went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the second, with the next three innings yielding gooseggs in the run column for both teams, during which the Riptide failed to cash in a second bases-loaded opportunity in the fourth.
The game remained scoreless through the next three frames before Philippines first baseman Braden Sellz broke through with a two-out RBI single in the eighth to give his club a 1-0 lead.
The Riptide rallied in the ninth, winning the ballgame and clinching their spot in the postseason.
With six games remaining, Orange County will continue its push towards the playoffs, seeking momentum and a strong regular-season finish before the CCL postseason begins July 28.
The Riptide will face the Arroyo Seco Saints at Great Park on Tuesday, July 21.
First pitch is set for 5:00 p.m.
