Rustlers Comeback to Defeat Tigers with Walk-off Homerun

Huntington Beach, CA - Golden West baseball (15-6, 3-1 OEC) win from a walk-off home run against the Riverside Tigers (15-7, 1-3 OEC) 

Off of a conference series win over the Fullerton Hornets, the Rustlers welcomed the Riverside Tigers to Fred Hoover Field. Riverside's first conference series was against the Saddleback Bobcats in which the Tigers won the opener but dropped the final two games. Golden West won both home games versus the Hornets last week as they walked it off in extras for the series winner. 

Dante Jackson was back on the bump for the Rustlers as he had a stellar showing in the first conference game. Against Fullerton last week, the lefty shoved 6.0 scoreless frames with five strikeouts and earned the victory. It was a quiet first four innings as neither side was able to cross the plate. Jackson repeated his impressive performance as the Tigers pitcher matched inning for inning. 

Hitless in the fifth, the Rustlers looked to get action on the base paths. Jack Salmon led off the inning with a walk as Golden West remained without a hit. Dennis Fitzpatrick walked up to the plate and launched the ball over the high left field wall for a two-run blast and the first lead of the afternoon, 2-0. Riverside responded in the top of the sixth as the Tigers were able to take advantage of two Golden West errors. The visiting team tied the contest with one hit in the inning, 2-2. 

The Rustlers immediately answered in the bottom of the frame with two runs yet again. Ayden Garcia led off the inning with a triple to left center field to instantly put a runner in scoring position. Zech Samayoa smacked the ball off the left field 390 ft sign for an RBI double to regain the edge, 3-2. Two out swinging, Jack Salmon smoked a line drive to right field for an RBI single, 4-2. 

Riverside tied it again in the top of the seventh and threatened as they loaded the bases, 4-4. Alex Ramos entered the game with bases full of Tigers and one out. The right handed pitcher hopped on the mound and struck out the first batter he faced and flied out the second batter to escape the seventh tied at four apiece. The game remained tied into extras as a wild pitch would give the Tigers a fifth and winning run in the top of the tenth, 4-5.

Golden West looked for a come from behind miracle in the bottom of the tenth inning. With one out, Garcia singled up the middle to put the tying run on first and the winning run up to the plate. On the first pitch he saw, Samayoa rocketed the ball to the 390 ft sign over the fence for a two-run walk-off home run for the Rustlers win, 6-5. 

Hero of the game, Samayoa delivered big time for his team as he went 2-5 with three RBIs and the game winning walk-off homerun. Garcia was also a key component to the win with his 2-4 day and two runs scored. On the mound, Jackson had a second consecutive successful conference outing as he delivered 6.0 frames, zero earned runs and four strikeouts. Ramos earned the win with his 2.2 innings pitched and two strikeouts. Golden West took the first game from the Tigers in ten frames with their second consecutive home walk-off victory.

UP NEXT: The Rustlers will continue the three-game series with the Tigers at Riverside on Thursday, March 14th. First pitch will be at 2pm.