17 Runs, 16 Hits Propel Baseball to Extra Innings Win at Victor Valley

VICTORVILLE, Calif. -- After 17 runs, 16 hits and 11 innings, College of the Desert baseball (3-12, 1-4) escaped with a 17-15 Foothill Conference win against Victor Valley (1-15, 0-5) yesterday afternoon in Victorville.

The Roadrunners jumped out to a lead in the third inning, when, after a pair of singles from sophomores Dallas Asuncion (Honolulu, HI/Kalani HS) and Dalton Bidon (Enumclaw, WA/Enumclaw HS), sophomore DJ Hernandez (La Quinta, CA/La Quinta HS) doubled in the game's first run.  Sophomore Luc Powers-Hubbard (Bonney Lake, WA/Sumner HS) followed with a single up the middle, plating both Hernandez and Bidon to give Desert a 3-0 advantage.

 Victor Valley responded in a ferocious manner, scoring eight unanswered runs over the next four innings off of Roadrunner right-handed pitchers, sophomore Riley Owen (Olympia, WA/Tumwater HS) and freshman Trenton Covel (Palm Desert, CA/Xavier HS).   

Facing a potentially insurmountable deficit at 8-3 entering the game's eighth inning, the Roadrunners began clawing their way back when an error permitted Dalton Bidon to score and cut the margin to just 8-4.  After freshman Isaiah Kinder (Yucca Valley, CA/Yucca Valley HS) drew a walk, Trenton Covel stepped up and drilled a two-RBI double to left field.  Sophomore Bobby Hosington (Battleground, WA/Battleground HS) followed, and cut the Victor Valley lead down to 8-7 with his sacrifice fly to right field.  Then, in an improbable series of events, sophomore Tanner Olthoff (Oceanside, CA/El Camino HS) singled in the game's tying run, and then came all the way around to score on an error by the right fielder.  

The renewed Desert advantage was short-lived, however, as Victor Valley scored four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, pushing them back in front, 12-9.

Needing a desperate rally, Dalton Bidon opened the inning by reaching after he was hit by a pitch.  DJ Hernandez followed with a single, then advanced to second on Luc Powers-Hubbard's RBI single to left field.  An error by the Victor Valley third baseman allowed freshman Travis Tanaka (Honolulu, HI/St. Louis HS) to reach safely, while also giving the Roadrunners their 11th run.  Another error, this time on the pitcher, plated two more runs and gave Desert a 13-12 lead.  Tanner Olthoff stepped in two batters later, and scored Isaiah Kinder with his RBI single up the middle.

Two Victor Valley runs in the ninth temporarily salvaged the result for the home team, while a run each in the 10th inning forced a 15-15 tie into the 11th.  

The Roadrunners finally dealt the decisive blow, as Dalton Bidon' sacrifice fly, coupled with DJ Hernandez's RBI single, gave them a 17-15 lead.  Freshman Jake Patterson (Palm Desert, CA/Palm Desert HS) quashed any remaining embers that burned for Victor Valley's comeback, as he easily recorded the clinching outs.

Dalton Bidon, DJ Hernandez and Luc Powers-Hubbard all collected four hits, with Hubbard adding four RBIs.  Hernandez, Isaiah Kinder and Trenton Covel recorded two RBIs each, while four Roadrunners, Tanner Olthoff, Dalton Bidon, Travis Tanaka and Bobby Hosington, each drove in one run. Jake Patterson (1-3) earned the win for Desert, allowing just one earned run on four hits in his three innings of duty.  He struck out four, while walking just one.

College of the Desert baseball will look to continue its winning ways when they host Rio Hondo this Saturday afternoon.  The Foothill Conference matchup is set for 12 p.m.