Baseball: Roadrunners drop SCC crossover series to LA Harbor

Rio Hondo College came up short in a pair of South Coast Conference interdivision games against Los Angeles Harbor College, falling to the Seahawks by a final score of 8-6 on Tuesday at home and suffering a 7-6 loss in Wilmington on Thursday.

The Roadrunners fell to 8-19 overall and are 4-12 in South Coast Conference play.

Game 1: LA Harbor 8, Rio Hondo 6

The Seahawks jumped out to a quick lead, scoring three runs off Rio Hondo starter Andrew Martinez in the top of the first inning, and would never trail.

Jimmy Portillo smacked a solo home run to get the Roadrunners on the board in the bottom of the second and Marc Salcido hit a RBI single also in the inning to cut LA Harbor's lead to 3-2.

But the Seahawks responded with three more runs in the fifth to put the game out of reach.

Jorge Centeno (2-for-5) and Jordan Salgado (1-for-4) both had 2 RBI. Martinez took the loss, allowing 6 runs (4 earned) and 6 hits over 5 innings. Nick Juarez was effective in relief, tossing a pair of scoreless innings to close out the contest.

Game 2: LA Harbor 7, Rio Hondo 6

Alex Banda had a big game at the plate for Rio Hondo, going 2-for-5 with 3 RBI, but Harbor put together a walk-off win in the ninth to close out the series.

Banda smashed a two-run home run in the second to give Rio Hondo an early 3-2 advantage. Harbor responded with a run in the bottom of the second before Banda came through again with a RBI single in the third to put the Roadrunners back out in front, 4-3.

The Seahawks put up three runs in the sixth go back ahead. Trailing 6-4, Rio Hondo rallied for two runs in the top of the seventh to tie up the ball game at 6-6 thanks to a Harbor wild pitch and balk.

But in the ninth, Harbor took advantage of a single and two walks to load the bases. And with one out, Andrew Garcia's pinch-hit, sacrifice fly drove in the game-winning run.

Ricky Akles (2-for-4) and Portillo (2-for-3) both had two hits for the Roadrunners. Abraham Carrillo went 5 innings in the start, allowing 5 runs (3 earned) and 3 hits. Isaiah Vasquez took the loss after pitching 1 2/3 innings, giving up the run in the ninth and a hit.

Rio Hondo returns to South Coast Conference North Division action on Tuesday (Apr. 9) when they begin a three-game series with East Los Angeles College. The opener is set for 2:30 p.m. in Monterey Park.