Irvine, Calif. – In Friday’s matchup against the MLB Academy Barons, the OC Riptide came close to finishing the comeback, but fell just short with a final score of 14-12 in favor of the Barons.
Riptide starting pitcher Mikal Ashley (Johnson County College) struggled early on and the Riptide fell behind 4-0 after the second inning.
Josiah Castillio (Pepperdine) entered the game in relief of Ashley to start the third inning. After back-to-back singles, the Barons were looking for another big inning. The Barons plated four more runs in the inning, and the Riptide trailed 8-0 going into the bottom of the third.
The Riptide answered back in the bottom of the third with back-to-back singles of their own from Tyler Griggs (Central Arizona College) and Kyle Booker (Tennessee). Austin Kryszczuk (UNLV) joined in on the hit parade with a double
Kryszczuk went 3-for-4 with 2 RBI’s Friday night.
Photo Credit: Alina Nelson
to right field to score Griggs, giving the Riptide their first run of the game. A single from Jack-Thomas Wold (UNLV) and a groundout from Emilio Rosas (USC) plated two more for the Riptide, making the score 8-3 in favor of the Barons.
The Barons added two more to their run total in the top of the fifth, extending their lead to seven.
Dalton Wood (Rice) entered the game in the top of the sixth in relief of Castillo. The Barons added to their run total once again courtesy of an RBI-single from Nicolas Malbrough (Mission College) followed by a three-run homerun from Alec Gonzalez (Tennessee), making the score 14-3.
Back-to-back walks to Spencer Serven (Texas Rio Grande Valley) and Tank Espalin put two runners on with no outs for the Riptide to start the bottom of the sixth inning. Serven scored on an RBI-single from Charlie Taylor (Tennessee). Espalin came around to score on a balk by Barons pitcher Armari Paula (Eastern Kentucky), and Taylor scored quickly after on a wild pitch, making the score 14-6.
Taylor had three RBI’s in Friday’s game.
Photo Credit: Alina Nelson
The Riptide were seeking a big inning in the bottom of the seventh, and that is exactly what they got. With two walks, and a single from Spencer Serven, the Riptide had bases loaded with only one out. A walk to Espalin scored Wold from third for their first run of the inning. An RBI-single from Charlie Taylor scored two more for the Riptide. Espalin came around to score on a balk from Barons reliever Ty Collins (Glendale CC) before two more runs scored on an RBI-single from Booker and a sac-fly from Kryszczuk closing the Barons lead to two with a score of 14-12.
Jake McBride entered in the eighth inning in relief of Wood, and pitched two scoreless innings, striking out four.
The Riptide came close, but were unable to finish the comeback, falling to the Barons 14-12.
The Riptide travel up to Santa Barbara on Saturday for a CCL matchup against the Foresters at 6:00pm PST.
OC Riptide vs. MLB Academy Barons July 9, 2021 – Box Score
