Bucs Battle to Extra-Innings Tie

Ryder Edwards pitches against the SoCal Hitmen June 25, 2022. Photo by Izzy De Souza

The GCCL Bucs matched up against the SoCal Hitmen at Valley College on Friday, with the final score ending in a 7-7 tie after 10 innings. The Bucs had not played since their doubleheader back on June 18, where they dropped the two-game set. The Bucs came into the game looking to garner a victory, as they were playing at home for the first time in over two weeks.

The Bucs sent right-hander Ryder Edwards on the mound for the Bucs, and he was nothing short of dominant in his outing. Edwards needed 75 pitches to get through his first five innings of work, while not allowing a single hit in the process. Edwards would have his no-hit bid broken up on a one-out single, but would retire the next two hitters in order. Edwards finished with a final stat line of 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 4 BB, and 6 K while throwing 94 pitches.

The bats were able to relieve some of the heavy lifting off Edwards, as they struck for four runs in the second inning, sparked by a solo home run from third baseman Brandon Cuervo.

“The first pitcher went out there and was fastball dominant, so I was just looking for that fastball and found a good pitch to hit,” said Cuervo.

Both offenses became stagnant through the next three innings, as both teams failed to crack the scoreboard within that stretch. It wasn’t until the top of the eighth inning where the game went from lopsided to a nailbiter.

After right-hander Logan Tourville pitched a silent seventh inning in relief for Ryder Edwards, he was tasked with another inning. The wheels began to slowly fall off, as Tourville would not record an out until a pickoff play during his sixth batter of the inning. SoCal was able to score three times off of Tourville, cutting the Bucs lead to two runs.

Te SoCal offense would not hold back, eventually scoring five times and tying the game, with the Bucs using three relievers in the eighth inning alone.

The Bucs offense wasted no time grabbing the lead in the bottom half of the inning, as a two-run double from shortstop Jesus Peraza gave the Bucs a 7-5 lead. However, the slugfest continued in the top of the ninth as the Hitmen tied the came at 7.

“As a team, I think we had some really clutch hits… we can definitely be more selective as a team, but when we find our pitches, we definitely crush them,” said Cuervo.

The GCCL Bucs are set to rematch against the SoCal Hitmen Saturday at Valley College, with first pitch scheduled for 4:00 p.m.