The Rio Hondo Roadrunners baseball team fell to the College of the Desert Roadrunners baseball team 14–6 in a game that featured multiple pitching changes for Rio Hondo and a late offensive surge by College of the Desert.
College of the Desert started the game with right-handed pitcher Caleb Ortiz on the mound. Ortiz helped set the tone early for the Desert Roadrunners as they worked to build an early 2–0 lead.
Rio Hondo countered with right-handed starting pitcher Marcus Mayweather. Mayweather kept the game competitive through the early innings before Rio Hondo, led by head coach Mike Salazar, began turning to its bullpen in the middle of the game.
In the fifth inning, with one runner on base and no outs, Rio Hondo made a pitching change, bringing in right-hander E.J. Felix in an effort to stop the Desert offense.
The pitching changes continued in the sixth inning as Rio Hondo switched to left-handed pitcher Efren Miranda at the top of the inning. Later in the sixth, with one out and two runners on base, Rio Hondo made another move by calling on right-handed pitcher Nathan Leyva. Leyva delivered a key moment for the Roadrunners, striking out two batters to escape the inning and prevent further damage.
College of the Desert also turned to its bullpen during the game. In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Desert Roadrunners brought in right-handed pitcher Brandon Deth with Rio Hondo threatening with runners on first and third and one out.
Another pitching change came in the top of the seventh when Rio Hondo turned to right-hander Dominic Elias to continue keeping the game low scoring.
Rio Hondo began to rally in the bottom of the seventh inning. The Roadrunners pushed across two runs, cutting the deficit and inching closer to tying the game at 6–5, giving the home team some momentum.
However, the Desert Roadrunners quickly answered. They added another run to extend their lead to two before delivering the dagger in the top of the ninth inning.
College of the Desert erupted for seven runs, creating a nine-run advantage and putting the game out of reach.
Rio Hondo managed to score once more in the bottom of the ninth inning, but the comeback attempt fell short as the game ended with a 14–6 final score.
With the loss, Rio Hondo drops to 6–17 on the season, while College of the Desert improves to 16–4 under head coach Sam DiMatteo.
