Thousand Oaks, Calif. – The Orange County Riptide fell just short losing 8-7 to the Conejo Oaks at George “Sparky” Anderson Field Thursday.
Andrew Pogue (Illinois) started on the mound and held the Oaks scoreless through the first two innings. The Oaks’ elevated their intensity at the plate in the bottom of the third inning by scoring a total of five runs.
The Oaks added another run to their score on a passed ball in the bottom of fourth to stretch their lead to 6-0.
Shawn Hepler (Xavier) took the mound in the bottom of the fifth to relieve Pogue. Hepler slowed the Oaks’ production at the plate in the fifth inning, but allowed two runs to score in the bottom of the sixth to make the score 8-0 in favor of the Oaks.
Reed Spenrath (TCU) reached base safely with his single to get the seventh inning rolling for the Riptide. Cody Dreis (Washington St.) moved Spenrath to third after his hit to left for a double. Spenrath came across to score the first run for the Riptide following the SAC fly by Efrain Cervantes (Nebraska).
Gavin Hamovitz (Santa Barbara) earned an RBI by driving in Dreis from third with his single to make the score 8-2. Hepler held the Oaks scoreless in the bottom of the seventh to give the Riptide offense another opportunity to score some runs.
Cody Dreis (Washington St.) reaches to make the tag on the baserunner at third
In the top of the eighth inning, Terrence Simmons (UConn) blasted a pitch for a homerun, making it his third homerun against the Oaks, to trim their deficit to five runs. Up next for the Riptide, Owens’ hit to left for a single allowed Simmons to move into scoring position on a passed ball. He eventually scored on the single hit by Spenrath, making the score 8-4.
Dalton Wood (Rice) pitched for the Riptide in the bottom of the eighth inning and recorded three outs on only four pitches. To start the ninth inning, Haimovitz recorded a single by beating out the throw from the shortstop.
Kyle Booker (Tennessee) advanced him to second with a slap up the middle for a single. Haimovitz tagged up on a flyout to right field to get to third. Simmons then cleared the bases with a double that trimmed the Oaks’ lead to 8-6.
Simmons later scored on the RBI double from Owens, leaving the Riptide down only one run with one out in the inning. The Oaks pitcher ended the Riptide rally by striking out the remaining batters, making the final score 8-7 as the Oaks take the win.
The Riptide will travel to Pershing Park to play the Santa Barbara Foresters at 6:00 P.M. (PDT) tomorrow evening.
OC Riptide vs. Conejo Oaks July 22, 2021 – Box Score
