IRVINE, Calif. – Early miscues, eight stranded baserunners and poor situational hitting led to a 3-2 loss for the Orange County Riptide against the Academy Barons on Sunday at Great Park.
The Barons’ outfielders wasted no time. In the top of the second, left fielder Antonio Lujan singled to center, sending home right fielder Chip Mertz, who singled and reached third after a wild pick attempt.
”They scored three runs on two errors, and it should have been a 1-0 game,” said head coach Bryan Evans.
Despite giving up an early run, Riptide starting pitcher Andrew Harbour put together a solid performance. He threw three innings, giving up three hits and one run.
“It’s summer ball, just gotta keep it fun, gotta keep it light,” said Harbour. “I just came out, stayed in my routine, and went out to treat it like any other day.”
The Barons tacked on their lead in the top of the fourth. After quickly loading the bases, the Academy’s bats came alive once more. Third baseman David Aguirre, with a base knock, drove in Mertz and catcher Nigel Buckley, extending their lead to three.
In the bottom of the fifth, second baseman Dennis Fitzpatrick wore a pitch, then Reid Montgomery singled. Center fielder Hunter Harrington moved the runners over with a sacrifice bunt, which set up the Riptide’s first run – a passed ball by the Barons. Fitzpatrick capitalized and came 90 feet home, bringing the score to 3-1.
Orange County had one final chance in the bottom of the ninth. Montgomery singled to right and cashed in pinch-hitter Slater Nunez to cut the deficit to one, however their rally was short lived.
“They’re a good hitting team and they pitched well tonight.” Evans said, “We knew it was going to be good competition, we just needed to take care of the baseball.”
The Riptide, now 11-4, return to play the San Diego Waves on Tuesday, June 23.
First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m.
