IVC gets their first conference win of the season

Irvine Valley College baseball team celebrating their first conference win. (Photo courtesy of IVC Athletics Department)

The Irvine Valley College baseball team got its first conference win of the season, behind the arm of freshman pitcher Ryan Abady, Saturday against Riverside. This win gives IVC’s baseball team a 1-1 record in conference play after losing to Fullerton, last Thursday. The Lasers record moves to 9-6 on the season and they have gone 5-5 in their last ten games.

Both IVC and Riverside held their own in the first five innings, not allowing any runs, and keeping the game close with a 0-0 score. Abady was as solid as rock through those innings. His only stumble was in the top of the sixth, when Riverside scored the first run. However this would be the last run Abady would surrender the rest of the game.

The Lasers responded to the 1-0 deficit in the bottom of the sixth inning with a strong and offensively packed comeback to end the sixth inning, scoring three runs and taking a 3-1 lead. Dilion Millar, Brett Hamilton, Lucas Tancas all scored runs to put the Lasers on top.

The seventh inning was once again a pitching battle, as neither team was able to put points on the board. The eighth inning was equally as tough as the seventh; the Lasers were looking to score an insurance run to put Riverside against the wall in the ninth.

In the ninth inning, IVC’s freshman catcher Branden Williams lined a single up the middle to send Millar home. This was the insurance run they were looking for, and the Lasers headed into the ninth inning, leading 4-1.

The Lasers decided to pull the hot arm of Abady off the mound, and used freshman reliever Marco Bedolla to finish the game, which he did in dramatic fashion, when he stuck out Riverside’s Mason Fishback.

With the next 11 games being against conference foes, this game was a statement game after a tough lose to Fullerton last week that went 12 innings long. The IVC baseball team is in a crucial part of the season. The Lasers will be looking to continue their winning ways Tuesday, Mar. 3 at Cypress College.

The IVC Lasers will also be traveling to Saddleback to play the Gauchos on Tuesday, March 10 at 2 p.m.

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