No. 5 Riverside Leaves No Doubt Against No. 10 Golden West

After two close games, No. 5-ranked Riverside City College left no doubt Monday afternoon with a 9-2 victory over No. 10-ranked Golden West College.

The Tigers improve to 16-6 on the year, 4-2 in the Orange Empire Conference. The Rustlers drop to 15-8 overall, 4-2 in conference.

Ian Nguyen led the Tigers with a 3-for-4 performance, scoring two runs and batting in three others. Danny Inzunza (2-for-4), Luke Medure (2-for-4), and Parker Sobiesiak (2-for-4) also had multiple hits, while Eddie Alfaro (1-for-1), Marc DiCarlo, Jr. (1-for-4), Dane Lujan (1-for-1), and Alex Gamez (1-for-3) also had hits.

Riverside didn't waste time as Eddie Alfaro scored off a Nguyen base hit in the top of the first.

Golden West tied things up in the third, but RCC took back the lead in the third with a two-RBI double from Inzunza.

The Rustlers tried to keep things close and pulled within one in the fourth, 3-2, but the Tigers put the game out of reach with six runs in the fifth.

With two outs and a runner on second, DiCarlo knocked a base hit to start the scoring spree. He then came home on a Gamez double before Marcus Moyer joined him on base on ball four. Sobiesiak stepped up to the plate and blasted a base hit through the gap on the left side to score Gamez.

RCC loaded the bases and Bubba Heidler drew a rogue pitch to get a free trip to first and send Moyer in to score. Nguyen capped the scoring with a two-RBI single to give the Tigers a 9-2 lead.

Jake Valenzuela picked up the win on the mound for Riverside, tossing nine strikeouts in eight innings and scattering six hits. Tre Minisee came in for the final inning and struck out one while not allowing any hits.

The Tigers take a break from conference action as they host Santa Barbara on Thursday at 3 p.m.