Santa Barbara, Calif. – After dropping the first meeting at home vs. the Santa Barbara Foresters on Tuesday, the Riptide struggles continued on the road, losing 4-3.
The Riptide scored early in the 1st with an RBI single from Bryce Blaser (North Carolina) scoring Cooper Dulich (Creighton) from 3rd. Dulich made it on base after being hit by a pitch on the first pitch of the game. Cary Arbolida (Houston) had an RBI single scoring Colby Canales (Creighton). Ethan Felix (El Camino College) had an RBI scoring Bryce Blaser (North Carolina) for their 3rd and final run of the game.
Josh Randall (San Diego) started on the mound for the Riptide. To begin his outing, Randall struck out the 2nd and 3rd batters, in a 3-up-3-down inning. He topped 96 MPH while pitching.
With a 3-run homerun off of Randall, the Foresters tied it up in the 2nd. They scored on another with an RBI single, in a 2-out rally.
Showcasing some Riptide defense, Patrick Hackworth (UC San Diego) gunned down a Forester at the plate, then Connor Clift (USC) and the infielders united to tag out the trailing Forester who ran home, in a pickle in the 3rd. There were 2 rundowns, and with those 2 instances, Coach Connor Spencer said that his “top-notch infielders” have been professionals about them, given that the “team is a bunch of dudes from around the country that don’t get to practice.”
B3 | @SBForesters find themselves in a PICKLE! Riptide still trail score 4-3. #OCRiptideBaseball #OCRiptideFamily #CCL30Years #CCLBaseball pic.twitter.com/2YwXcuVvZn
— OC Riptide Baseball (@ocriptide) June 30, 2023
Changes Coming Soon
After a good start, the momentum came to a halt and the Riptide could not manufacture runs past the 1st inning. Up until this point in the season, Coach Connor Spencer has tried to play everyone since they have such a big roster. With trying to get everyone in, the team has lacked consistency with some players only hitting once every 4 days. Spencer said, “Some players are going to play more and some players are going to play less. And that’s just kind of the natural evolution of the team as we move closer to the All-Star break and to a post-season run. Some of our guys are going to be our guys and some are just not.”
The OC Riptide plays the Conejo Oaks on June 30th at 7:00 p.m. at the Great Park.
OC Riptide vs. Santa Barbara Foresters – Box Score