SANTA CLARITA, Calif. - The Simpson baseball team kicked off its SoCal road trip on a high note today as they swept Bethesda, 9-5 and 4-2 in a twin-bill.
Simpson and Bethesda exchanged a run in the first inning as
Tyler Haruta drove home the first run of the game on an RBI single to right field.
Bethesda took the 2-1 lead in the bottom of the third inning before the Red Hawks rallied in the fourth inning for four runs as the first four Red Hawks reached base safely to begin the inning.
Zion Palea posted an RBI single,
Aden Munoz earned a sacrifice fly,
Eric Mora had a tough earned hit by pitch RBI to drive home the third run of the inning, and Palea came around to score on a passed ball to cap off the big inning.
The Red Hawks plated four runs over the final three innings as
Justin Powell and Haruta posted RBI knocks.
The Simpson pitching staff, from the combined efforts of starter
Brendan Moore and relievers
Nui Sato,
Johnny Alvarez,
Cesar Guzman, and
Nathan Palacioz, allowed five runs as they scattered nine hits while striking out six batters.
Haruta paced the Red Hawks' 12-hit game with a three-for-four game that included three RBIs.
Owen Hayes and
Mario Catalan followed close behind with two-hit performances.
Game 2:
An RBI double by
Cayden Lee highlighted a two-run top of the first inning for Simpson as they took the early lead against Bethesda.
Simpson added one in the fourth on a sacrifice fly by Mora and one more in the fifth on a big fly by
Owen Hayes to extend its lead while Simpson starter
Trey Bennett held total command over Bethesda bats.
Bennett fired 5.0 innings of two-run ball before handing the ball to
Qorey Houston to preserve the 4-2 victory.
In a low-scoring game, the Red Hawks mustered seven hits while Hayes led the Simpson bats with a two-hit game that included a two-run blast.
The Red Hawks continue their road trip tomorrow in Santa Clarita as they take on the Master's University in a twin-bill with the first pitch scheduled for 11 am.
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