Huntington Beach, Calif. - Rustler baseball lost a close game, 6-5, to Cypress at Hoover Field on Friday. The Rustlers are 13-8 and 1-4 in conference play.
Johnnie Valdez Jr. was on the mound for the Rustlers, looking for his fifth win of the season. The Chargers lead-off hitter got a piece of Valdez Jr. just moments into the game with a double. Valdez Jr. went on to see five innings, giving up five hits, two earned runs, two walks and a strikeout.
Cypress silenced the Rustlers through three innings while taking a 3-0 lead. With runners on first and third, Valdez Jr. laid out off the mound to catch a bunt and got the runner out at home with the help from his defense.
The Rustlers answered back with three runs in the fourth inning to create a brand new ballgame.
Dylan Kordic and Dylan Lina hit consecutive singles before Jack Salmon reached on an error by the pitcher to load the bases. Matt Gaunt brought Kordic home after getting hit by pitch to put the Rustlers on the board. Lina scored on a fielder's choice, and Salmon was the third runner to score on a failed pickoff attempt at third base.
Neither team put together enough offensive production to score runs until the seventh inning. Cypress jumped ahead 5-3, scoring two runs on a solo home run off of Jack Smith and then a wild pitch from Jake Ferretti, who relieved Smith one batter later.
The Rustlers closed the Chargers' lead right away as Rocco Caballero scored on a wild pitch after getting walked earlier that inning. They did not count themselves out, taking advantage of scoring on a passed ball in the eighth inning to tie the game at five.
Andrew Stanley entered in relief for Alex Ramos in the ninth with bases loaded. A sacrifice fly hit to left field gave the Chargers the 6-5 lead they hoped for before grounding out to shortstop to give the Rustlers one last chance to tie or walk it off.
The bottom of the ninth turned into a 1-2-3 inning, allowing Cypress to even the series 1-1. The loss fell on Ramos, who is 0-3 on the season.
The Rustlers and Chargers will decide a series winner at Cypress on Saturday at 12 p.m.
