IRVINE, Calif – The Orange County Riptide erupted for six runs in the first inning, highlighted by Jarett Sabol’s 410-foot three-run homer, en route to a 17-0 rout of the Philippines Baseball Group on Thursday night at Great Park.
After Wednesday’s disappointing loss that featured a blown four-run lead in the eighth inning to the Arroyo Seco Saints, Orange County looked to flush that memory and start fast on Thursday.
They succeeded.
Following an error and a single, Sabol quickly fell behind in the count 0-2. Philippines starter Jacob Gudino left a slider over the plate which the designated hitter blasted to right-center field for his third home run of the season, giving Orange County a 3-0 lead three batters into the game.
“He hung me a slider, which I was able to stay back on it enough to where I was able to pull out of here,” Sabol said. “It was a great feeling.”
Orange County’s offense kept its foot on the gas. The Riptide blew the game wide open in the fourth, collecting six runs on five hits with the help of three Philippines errors.
Riptide right fielder Bradley Navarro drove in the seventh Riptide run on a triple, marking his first three-bagger of the season.
The final blow came in the eighth inning when right fielder Zach Woodson crushed his first home run of the season, driving in two and extending the Orange County lead to 17. The 17-run outburst marked the most runs scored for Orange County in a single game this season, surpassing the 16 runs scored against the Saints on June 13.
Right-hander Erik Rodriguez made his sixth start of the season for Orange County, tossing four scoreless innings and striking out four. Thursday’s start served as a bounce-back outing after he surrendered five runs in 4.1 innings in Friday’s loss to the San Diego Bombers.
The tough season for the Philippines’ defense marched on Thursday night, committing a season-worst five errors in the blowout loss.
Orange County improved to 25-15 on the season and concluded the season series with a perfect 6-0 record against the Philippines.
“I’ve said it all year. One pitch, one game, one inning at a time,” Riptide head coach Bryan Evans said. “We’re going to keep doing that until the end of the season and see where we’re at.”
The Riptide will head back out on the road to face the MLB Academy Barons at the MLB Urban Youth Academy in Compton on Friday.
First pitch set for 6:05 p.m.
