After Thursday night’s close 8-7 loss to the Conejo Oaks to start five straight road games, the OC Riptide lost to the Santa Barbara Foresters 5-1 on Friday night. The loss bumps Orange County down to an 18-15 overall record in the 2021 season and pits them 5.5 games back from the Arroyo Seco Saints and Foresters, who are tied for first in the CCL South with seven regular-season games remaining.
The top 1-2-3 of Davis Diaz (Vanderbilt), Austin Kryszczuk (UNLV), and TC Simmons (UConn) in head coach Mitch LeVier’s batting order starred at the plate logging two hits apiece out of ten at-bats with five combined walks, the lone RBI, and only one strikeout.
There wasn’t much offense through the first five innings with the Riptide logging five hits and clinging to a 1-0 lead going into the sixth frame. Jake McBride got the start and completely dominated early on with a no-hitter through four innings. It was the right-hander’s ninth appearance this season as he came into Friday night having not allowed a run in his last three innings pitched.
The run came in the top of the second inning on a bases-loaded walk from Santa Barbara starting pitcher Christian Delashmit. TC Simmons (UConn) got credit for the RBI as Efrain Cervantes (Nebraska) came home from third to score. He was the first man to get on in the inning with a walk of his own.
TC Simmons (UConn), Davis Diaz (Vanderbilt), and Austin Kryszczuk (UNLV) went 6-for-10 with six walks in the loss. (Photo Credit: Emily Sullivan)
The Foresters got to McBride though in the fifth with a leadoff walk that eventually led to a two-out RBI single to knot things up at 1-1. That would end his day with Hunter Ash (Cal Poly Pomona) entering from the bullpen and delivering a six-pitch 1-2-3 bottom of the sixth to keep the game tied going into the seventh.
McBride went five innings with one run allowed on two hits with three strikeouts in his longest outing of the summer. It was just the second time that he threw more than two innings after a three-inning relief appearance on July 6th.
Then after the stretch, Santa Barbara brought around four men to break the tie by taking a 5-1 lead and giving Orange County the dagger. The runs came on an RBI triple, single, and double off of Ash and Mike Schreiber (Washington).
The Riptide had an opportunity to climb back into the game in the top of the eighth with men on second and third, but the Foresters got the third out via strikeout to strand the runners. Orange County was unable to score a second run in the top of the ninth as Santa Barbara took the fourth matchup of the summer between the two clubs by a final of 5-1.
The Riptide (18-15) look to bounce back against the MLB Academy Barons on Saturday. They will then play two more road games in San Luis Obispo, and Pasadena before returning to Orange County to end the regular season with three of their last four at OC Great Park.
OC Riptide vs. Santa Barbara Foresters July 23, 2021 – Box Score
