Riverside Stops Rancho Santiago’s Unbeaten Streak

Riverside’s Cody Trask pitched a five-hitter as the Tigers snapped Rancho Santiago’s 16-game unbeaten streak with an 11-2 Orange Empire Conference victory Saturday at Riverside.

Trask walked one and struck out 10 to improve his record to 6-0.

The only blemish on Trask’s game was the top of the fifth inning. Rancho Santiago’s Charlie Marino doubled and Josh Reding was hit by a pitch. Erik Sobek then doubled, scoring Marino and Reding for the only runs of the game for the Dons (24-2-1, 11-1).

Greg Dobbs was three for four with three runs scored and two RBIs for Riverside (21-4, 6-4).

In other Orange Empire Conference baseball games:

Saddleback 8, Fullerton 4--Kirk Bolling’s first home run of the game moved the Gauchos in front and his second put the game away at Saddleback.

Bolling, a freshman first baseman who transferred from Cal State Fullerton, also had a single. He drove in five runs.

Fullerton scored three times in the fourth on Keith Jones’ two-run homer and Curt Lee’s run-scoring double to tie it, 4-4.

But Saddleback rallied for four runs an inning later. Nick Punto and Greg Ferrell singled and scored when Bolling hit a home run over the left-field fence.

It was his eighth home run of the season. It ties him for the conference lead with Rancho Santiago’s Kevin Duck.

Bolling hit a two-run homer and teammate Corrie Wilkie hit a home run in the first inning.

Saddleback also got five shutout innings of relief pitching from right-handers Kyle Kane and Ryan Poe. Kane took over in the fifth and gave up a walk in three innings to get the victory. Kane retired the final seven he faced.

Poe worked the final two innings for his second save for Saddleback (20-4, 8-4), which reached the halfway point in conference in second place, threegames behind Rancho Santiago.

Jones also had a double, and Nick Garcia and Dan Gusman each had two hits and an RBI for Fullerton (15-12, 3-9).