Rio Men’s Baseball Season Ends in Disappointment

Rio Hondo’s Men’s Baseball team finished off their season losing three straight games to the Pasadena City Lancers. The Roadrunners loss their final game Friday, April 27 on the Lancer field and will now look forward to next season.

In their final game of the season, Rio Hondo had five more hits than their opponents, but still couldn’t pull away with the win. Instead, the Roadrunners were handed a one point, 6-5 loss.

The Roadrunners were down 6-3 heading into the ninth inning, and it looked like they were going to get a late road rally started.

With a runner on base, sophomore right fielder Nick Ybarra hit a double to center, bringing in the runner.

Following Ybarra was catcher Steven Mendoza, who hit a shot to center himself. The hit gave Mendoza a single and brought in Ybarra to trim the Pasadena City to one.

Rio Hondo couldn’t score after that, though, and ultimately loss 6-5.

The three straight losses against Pasadena City put an end to the Roadrunners disappointing season. Rio finishes the season 13-25, with a 6-16 conference record.

The sophomore right fielder, Ybarra finished the season as the top hitter for the Roadrunners. He ends his season with a team-leading .335 batting average, 53 hits and 28 RBIs.

The top freshman for Rio was catcher Luis Aguilar. Aguilar had a .313 batting average, 31 hits and 14 RBIs in just 27 games.

Aguilar and other freshman, like infielders Ruben Rosales and Kelby Nava will have to pick up their game next season if the Roadrunners hope to be competitive.

The Roadrunners’ 6-16 conference record placed them in last place of the SCC-North. The only team in the entire SCC with a worse record, was Compton, with a 1-21 record in the South.

Rio Hondo’s men’s baseball team can only look ahead with their heads raised, however. The Roadrunner men can’t hang their heads if they want to succeed next season.