Baseball: Roadrunners drop second game of SCC series to El Camino

Christian Tinnin smacked his first home run of the season but Rio Hondo College couldn't put together a late rally and lost the second game of a South Coast Conference series to visiting El Camino College by a final score of 5-3 on Thursday.

El Camino swept the series to drop Rio Hondo to 6-9 overall and 2-2 in conference play.

After collecting just five hits in the series opener on Tuesday, the Roadrunners had better success at the plate with nine hits, including seven off El Camino starting pitcher Jimmy Galicia.

Nick Juarez pitched well in the start for the Roadrunners, keeping the Warriors off the board for the first three innings. But in the fourth, he allowed a two-run home run to El Camino's Joseph Borge while a two-out error allowed a third run to score.

Rio Hondo got a run back in the bottom of the fourth thanks to a RBI single by Jordan Salgado that scored Jesus Maldonado. El Camino (14-3, 2-2 SCC) added another run in the top of the fifth before Ricky Akles' single brought home Robert Lopez to make the score 4-2.

Trailing 5-2 in the seventh, Tinnin led off the frame with a home run off Galicia. The Roadrunners put runners on in the eighth and ninth innings put couldn't cash in.

Juarez took the loss after allowing two earned runs and six hits over four innings. Andy Garcia was effective in relief, closing out the game with 3 1/3 scoreless innings while giving up just one hit with six strikeouts.

Akles and Lopez both had two hits to lead the Roadrunners at the plate.

Rio Hondo will look to snap a three-game losing streak on Saturday (Mar. 9) when they open a two-game SCC series at home against Long Beach City College. First pitch is set for 12 p.m.