HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. — The Golden West College Rustlers opened Orange Empire Conference play in dominant fashion, blanking the visiting Irvine Valley College Lasers 5-0 on Tuesday afternoon. Behind a stellar combined pitching performance from David Ladjevic and Ayden Valdez, the Rustlers secured their first conference victory while improving to 12-6 on the season.

Ladjevic (1-0) set the tone early, striking out seven batters over five shutout innings while allowing just one hit. The right-hander worked efficiently, stranding multiple Irvine Valley baserunners and benefitting from solid Rustlers defense. Valdez (Sv, 1) took over in the sixth and continued the dominant effort, tossing four scoreless frames while striking out four and surrendering just one hit.

Rustlers' Offense Strikes Early as they wasted no time putting runs on the board, breaking through in the second inning when Bryan Martinez singled to left, driving in Cole Belfanti for a 1-0 lead.

The Rustlers extended their lead in the third with a three-run outburst. Zack Burrow led off with a hit and later scored on a Jonny Rodriguez double down the left-field line. Dennis Fitzpatrick followed with an RBI single, plating Rodriguez. Moments later, Belfanti added to the tally with a sacrifice fly, scoring Roman Meyers to make it 4-0.

Golden West tacked on an insurance run in the seventh when Meyers lifted a sacrifice fly to left, bringing home Burrow for the final 5-0 margin.

The Lasers (12-6, 0-1) struggled to generate any momentum at the plate, managing just two hits on the afternoon. Josh Gutierrez accounted for both of Irvine Valley's base knocks, while the rest of the lineup combined to go 0-for-26 with 11 strikeouts.

Golden West's defense was sharp behind their pitching staff, turning two double plays and limiting Irvine Valley's scoring opportunities.

Irvine Valley's starter, Tyler Eastham (0-1), pitched six innings, allowing four earned runs on seven hits while striking out two. Casey Coady worked the final two innings in relief, giving up one run on one hit with a strikeout.

Up Next Golden West (12-6, 1-0) will look to build on their conference-opening win as they travel to Irvine Valley on Friday, March 7 with a 2pm start.