Irvine, Calif. —  The Orange County Riptide shutout the MLB Academy Barons 8-0 at the OC Great Park. Nathan Manning (Cal) drove in three runs, while Gavin Mez (UNLV) and Gavin Haimovitz (Santa Barbara City College) drove in two runs. Evan Vasiliou (UC Irvine) got the victory and four Riptide pitchers combined for the shutout.

The Riptide jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. In the bottom of the first, with Wilson Galvan (UT Arlington) and T.C. Simmons (UConn) in scoring position, Nathan Manning (Cal) grounded to second, scoring Galvan and bringing across the first run of the game.

Santino Panaro (UNLV) led off the bottom of the third with a single. With Wilson Galvan at the plate, Panaro stole second to move into scoring position. After a groundout and a hit by pitch, Nathan Manning came up with a pair of runners on base and roped a two-run double down the left field line to bring the Riptide lead to 3-0. The next batter, Dominic Souto (Cal), added to the lead with an RBI double, extending the lead to 4-0. After a pitching change and a strikeout, Gavin Mez (UNLV) came up with 2 outs and Souto on second. Mez lined a single up the middle to bring across the fourth run of the inning and increased the Riptide lead to 5-0 after three innings.

The Riptide added on in the bottom of the fifth. The inning began with a walk by Nathan Manning, followed by a single from Dominic Souto. After a flyout, Gavin Mez singled to left to drive in Manning and give the Riptide a 6-0 lead. One batter later, with two outs and runners on second and third, Gavin Haimovitz (Santa Barbara City College) singled to clear the bases, extending the lead to 8-0 after 5 innings. The Riptide would not tack on another run after the fifth.

Although the offense shined, was outstanding, Evan Vasiliou, the starter for the Riptide was incredible. Vasiliou finished without allowing a run across 6 innings pitched. He walked none and and only gave up 2 hits, both singles. Vasiliou allowed a leadoff single in the second inning and proceeded to retire the next 15 batters he faced in order, ending his night with his fifth strikeout. Caleb Turner (UC Riverside) relieved Vasiliou and worked a shutout seventh inning. Next up was Josh Haley (Long Beach State) who worked around a hit and a walk to shutout the Barons in the eighth. Finally, Matthew Maloney (New Mexico State) put the finishing touch on the shutout, striking out two in a scoreless ninth.

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The Riptide’s next game is against the Conejo Oaks at George “Sparky” Anderson Field on July 27th at 4:30 p.m. The Riptide’s final home game is against the Conejo Oaks at OC Great Park on July 31st at 4:35 p.m.  Boxscore