Huntington Beach, Calif. - The Rustlers (18-12, 6-7) remain on a roll as they shut down Riverside (19-10, 8-5) 5-0 with the combination of a complete game outing from starting pitcher Jason Blood and an offense that succeeded playing small ball.
"Going through my mind was just every inning, going out there and attacking hitters and throwing a lot of strikes," Jason Blood said. "I wanted to keep them off balance, and I was able to do that today."
Blood was in fact able to throw batters off balance, forcing Riverside's offense to hit into ground outs and pop flys. Through nine innings, Blood allowed three hits, walked one of the 33 batters faced, and struck out eight.
"I don't think he had his best stuff today, actually, in terms of velocity and stuff like that, but he competed really well and located really well," Head Coach Andrew Ramos said. "After the eighth inning I said 'Blood you are done.' He said 'No, I am not.' and I said 'Okay, you win,' so he earned it, and he was really good – I am proud of him."
The Rustlers wasted no time producing on offense as third baseman Jonah Sebring hit a double off the first pitch. Catcher Adam Arroyo contributed to this shutout win, batting in three runners – one being Sebring – with a shortstop-first baseman ground out in the first inning and a two-run single in the fifth.
Sebring drove in the last two runs for the Rustlers in the bottom of the sixth with a single to right center field.
"We got clutch hits when we needed it," Ramos said. "We had two, two out hits with two strike counts that led to four runs, so those are back breakers when the other team thinks they are out of the inning with one pitch. That was the difference right there."
Shortstop Steven Casas also had an impressive offensive game hitting in the two spot, going 3-for-4, with three singles and a pair of wheels earning him two stolen bases.
"We need to keep winning ball games, and with this 6-7 record we need to just keep firing away," Blood said. "The offense was really good today – the base hits were in, the dugout was dynamic, and I'm just glad we were able to come out victorious."
NEXT: Golden West will travel to Riverside in hopes of taking the series on Thursday, starting at 2 p.m.
Written By Marissa Lavezzari
