The Orange County Riptide outlasted the Philippines Baseball Group 15-9 in a back-and-forth hit parade Sunday night at Great Park.
The victory moved the Riptide’s record to 17-8 on the year and marked their third win against the Philippines.
The Philippines jumped on the board early, with the first two batters of the game reaching on walks. A would-be double-play ball yielded the first run when the Riptide couldn’t turn two, and a single from Noah Vasquez brought in a pair of runs before the end of the top half.
Riptide second baseman Dennis Fitzpatrick led off the bottom of the first with a single, followed by a perfectly executed sacrifice bunt by Hunter Harrington and a single from Conner Barth.
Designated hitter Cooper Clouser then drove in Fitzpatrick and Barth on an infield single, making it a 3-2 ballgame.
In the bottom of the second, after tying the game, the Riptide rallied and scored three runs, capped off by Barth’s second knock of the night, which drove in Fitzpatrick and Nunez.
The next inning, a triple from Marsh scored Zach Woodson, with Fitzpatrick driving in the runner on third with his second hit of the game
“We’re having a good time,” Fitzpatrick said of the team’s mentality through the back-and-forth nature of the game. “Everybody in the lineup can swing it a little bit, so we’re just using every single guy, and tonight we did.”
The Philippines chipped away at their deficit in the fourth and fifth, scoring a run in each frame, narrowing the score to 8-5.
Woodson scored on a fielder’s choice in the bottom of the fifth, and the Philippines answered quickly, scoring again in the top of the sixth and cutting the lead to 9-6.
In the seventh, situational hitting helped the Philippines even the score at nine before the Riptide regained a one-run lead in the bottom half.
An inning later, the Riptide strung together a handful of hits and tacked on five insurance runs, extending their lead to 15-9 entering the final inning.
Right-hander Kaden Starr got the ball in the ninth, making his Riptide debut and tossing a scoreless inning en route to sealing the victory.
The Riptide will return home to face the San Luis Obispo Blues on Tuesday, July 7.
First pitch is set for 7:00 p.m.
