IRVINE, Calif. — The Orange County Riptide bats were hot all night, tallying seven runs on eight total hits en route to a 7-3 win over the San Diego Bombers.
The game remained a low-scoring affair through the first three innings, with both pitchers tossing scoreless frames and handling the opposing lineups with relative ease.
In the top of the fourth, Bombers first baseman Ganon Dwyer broke the scoreless tie with a three-run home run that cleared the wall just inches out of reach of Riptide right fielder Jarett Sabol.
Still trailing 3-0 in the top of the fifth, Riptide right-hander Dillon Orr shut down a would-be Bombers rally, recording a strikeout and groundout to escape a jam in which San Diego had two men in scoring position with only one out.
In the top of the sixth, after committing an error that allowed the leadoff hitter to reach base, Orr bounced back with three straight punchouts, letting out an audible grunt on the inning’s final pitch.
In the bottom half of the inning, the Riptide bats got a taste of their own pitchers’ medicine, going down in order and leaving two runners on base after Dennis Fitzpatrick and Tomas Cernius reached on a hit-by-pitch and single, respectively.
Cernius finished 3-for-3 from the plate with two RBI’s and was one of a few Riptide players who found success against the Bombers’ starter Osaias Hinojosa.
“It’s baseball. Sometimes it goes our way, sometimes it doesn’t,” said Cernius. “You’ve just gotta keep playing and keep putting your best offense out there.”
The Riptide finally cracked the run column in the sixth, stringing together multiple quality at-bats to tie the game 3-3.
With one out in the inning, a double from Jarett Sabol, a walk from Shawn Romero and a hit-by-pitch from Landry Stamps loaded the bases and gave Orange County a golden opportunity.
They cashed in the opportunity when second baseman Dennis Fitzpatrick brought home Sabol on a fielder’s choice. Back-to-back singles from Cernius and Bradley Beaudreau then drove in two more runs, with Fitzpatrick getting caught stealing at second to end the frame.
“We just got early guys on base,” said Cernius. “Getting guys on base creates havoc. It makes pitchers make real mistakes, think about runners and gives us more pitches to hit.”
Leading off the Riptide half of the seventh, left fielder Reid Montgomery jumped on the first pitch he saw and clobbered a solo shot to right field, putting the Riptide in front 4-3.
“I’m always looking to hunt the first pitch. Usually it’s the best pitch of the at-bat,” said Montgomery. “[It was] a fastball, middle-in, a little up. Right in my wheelhouse. I was able to put a good swing on it.”
They added multiple insurance runs in the eighth, kicked off by Shawn Romero who drew a walk and Landry Stamps wearing a pitch for the second time in the game.
Fitzpatrick then promptly ripped a double down the left field line, scoring Romero from second and bringing Stamps 90 feet from home.
Back-to-back sacrifice flies from Cernius and Beaudreau scored the Riptide’s sixth and seventh runs, setting up a comfortable cushion for right-hander Sammy Petrocelli to hammer the nail in the coffin and secure the 7-3 victory.
The Riptide will travel to Pasadena to face the Arroyo Seco Saints on Saturday, June 13.
First pitch is scheduled for 4:05 p.m.
