Baseball: Roadrunners earn series split with 6-3 win over Compton

Sophomore Nick Ybarra went 3 for 4 and smashed a home run to help power Rio Hondo College to a 6-3 South Coast Conference win over visiting Compton College in a rain makeup game on Monday.

Rio Hondo and Compton split the two-game conference series. The win improved the Roadrunners to 7-8 overall and 1-1 in SCC play.

Rio Hondo built a 3-0 lead, scoring a run in the second and two more in the fourth. Ybarra ripped his home run to lead off the fourth before the Roadrunners put together a two-out rally to load the bases and score a run on a hit batter.

Compton responded with a run in the top of the fifth before the Roadrunners put the game out of reach with a three-run surge in the bottom of the frame. Steven Mendoza lifted a sacrifice fly, while Marc Salcido and Tony Rosario both hit RBI singles.

Marcos Rivas, Josh Sabajan, and Rosario all had two hits each in the contest.

Nick Cottone was impressive in his first start of the season. He went seven innings and allowed just one run and six hits on his way to the victory. Jake Guadet earned the save, tossing the final 1 ⅔ with two strikeouts.

Rio Hondo returns to action on Tuesday (March 6) at 2 p.m. when the Roadrunners open another two-game SCC series at Cerritos College. Thursday's finale is set for 2 p.m. in Whittier.