Compton, Calif. – The Orange County Riptide secured their first shut out of the season in a 3-0 game against the Academy Barons. The Riptide earned their fourth win in a row and third of the California Collegiate League.
Brandon Burckel (Houston) opened up the scoring as he hit a two out, triple to left center field, scoring Ethan Felix (El Camino College) and Ayden Garcia (Golden West College) in the sixth inning. Connor McGuire (California Baptist) went 2-3 with a double, walk and a run scored. Nick Upstill (Pepperdine) sacrifice fly cashed in McGuire’s leadoff double in the top of the ninth inning giving the Riptide an added insurance run.
(Photo credit: Sarah Cisneros)
Pitching continues to be an important part of this Riptide team. Five pitchers combined to strike out 11 Barons, making it 14 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run. Head coach Connor Spencer has made it an emphasis to see his pitchers come in and throwing strikes, an area he wanted to see improvement in after the second game of the season.
Tyler Valdez (Arizona State) turned in an effective quality start in his first start against the Barons, pitching four scoreless innings and recording six strikeouts. Valdez gave up a leadoff double in the third inning but kept the runner from scoring after getting the next three batters out, two of them on strikeouts. Matthew Lopez (Northern Kentucky) pitched two innings in his first appearance of the summer, earning the win. Lopez struck out three of the seven batters he faced.
Up Next
The Riptide will face the Academy Barons again on Wednesday night at the OC Great Park. First pitch scheduled for 7 p.m. pacific time.
OC Riptide vs. Academy Barons – Box