The Saints came up short Sunday night in a nail-biting game against the Orange County Riptide. The Saints saw some of their best pitching yet in the early innings to start the game off strong. Unfortunately, the later innings got away from the Saints and the Riptide were about to rally and win the game.

The Saints started the game with Bradley Mullan (Oregon) on the mound. Mullan had a spectacular 3 innings with 6 strikeouts and he did not allow any runs. Mullan made quick work of the Riptides batters and set the game up early for the Saints.

On the offensive side, Alec Jones (Cincinnati) started the Saint’s hot hitting. Jones hit a double and was brought in by Mason Hammonds (Tarleton State) who hit a double to left center. The Saints were up 1-0 at the bottom of the second inning and things were looking good for the team. 

Into the 4th and 5th innings, Murphy Brooks (Louisiana-Lafayette) continued the Saint’s pristine pitching. Brooks pitched two scoreless innings and tallied four strikeouts. The dugout’s energy was high seeing Brooks back on the mound for the team.

Richie Morales (Arizona) would execute a perfect double to left field in the 5th inning to keep things moving for the Saints. Jared Quandt (Hawaii) then stepped up to hit an RBI single and bring in Morales for the run putting the Saints up 2-0 heading into the 6th inning.

The Saint’s pitching in the early innings was top-tier. The team has struggled in past games to find a rhyme with pitching but not tonight. Calvin Bickerstaff (Kent State) pitched two scoreless innings in the 6th and 7th to keep the Riptides bats at bay. Aaron Treloar (New Mexico State) would go for another scoreless inning in the 8th to maintain the Saint’s lead.

Heading into the 9th inning the Riptide batters hadn’t made it past first base. The Saints were relentless with their pitching heading into the 9th and the game looked set.

The top of the 9th inning was tough for the Saints as the Riptide went on to score 3 runs. The Riptides dugout was fired up seeing their bats finally starting to hit some balls.

At the bottom of the 9th, the Saint’s energy was low. It looked like the Riptide would take the win, but Jack Little (Wichita State) would not accept defeat. Little smashed a ball to left center to score a solo home run and tie the game up at 3-3. The Saints were back in the game.

Going into extra innings the fans at Jackie Robinson Memorial Stadium were on the edge of their seats. The Riptide was first to strike with 2 runs to take the lead in the top of the 10th. The score was 3-5 when the Saints came up to bat. 

The Saints were able to score one run from Julian Alvarez (Cal Baptist) off of a wild pitch. The Saints gave all they could to get that last run but couldn’t close it out against the Riptide. 

Although the game was a loss for the Saints, there was a lot of promise in the pitching tonight. The Saints are looking like more of a team every day as we enter the 3rd week of summer ball. This game showed the talent and resilience the team holds.

The Saints look to bounce back from this Tuesday night as they travel to San Luis Obispo to face the Blues on their home turf. Tune in for the first pitch at 6:00 p.m. PST live on our Youtube Channel.

Contributors:

• Saints Reporter Madison Rogers (University of Washington)
• Saints Photographer Sonny Tapia (Cal State Long Beach)