Prep Baseball: Riverside Prep avenges loss to Excelsior in a crucial CVL showdown
With two on, one out, and the three-hole hitter at the plate in the seventh inning, Excelsior was in a strong position to upset Riverside Prep for the second time in three days.
Excelsior, ranked 300 spots lower than Riverside Prep according to MaxPreps.com, pulled off a slim victory earlier in the week, beating the program for the first time since 2021.
Riverside Prep, which has finished second in the Cross Valley League to Hesperia Christian the past two seasons, looked to continue its hot streak to the season. But the loss to Excelsior reminded the Silver Knights just how competitive the Cross Valley League really is.
“It knocked us off a pedestal but that was needed,” Riverside Prep head coach Rick Rivera said. “We need to stay humble, we need to stay confident.”
The Silver Knights held a 4-2 lead going into the final inning Friday against Excelsior. Three straight Eagles batters reached base to start the inning but Ethan Ramirez was thrown out at second trying to stretch a single.
Runners were on the corners for Brandon Gill, who leads the team in home runs.
Tyler Oerman led off on first base and Logan Sarkesian stepped off and threw over. Oerman was already back on the bag by the time Sarkesian threw the ball.
Rivera yelled from the dugout, “You don’t have to throw it.”
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Sarkesian stepped off again to look at first base a few pitches later and Oerman was off the bag. Sarkesian hesitated at first but threw to the bag and picked off Oerman for the second out of the inning.
“I was still thinking throw it. It was kind of weird but I still got him,” Sarkesian said.
Gill flew out to deep centerfield for the final out and gave Riverside Prep the 4-2 bounce-back win.
Riverside Prep finds the alley early
The Silver Knights jumped on Gill, who was the starter on the mound for Excelsior, early in the first inning.
A single and sacrifice bunt put Isaiah Gomez at second base. Andrew Logsdon followed by driving the ball into right-center field, scoring Gomez. Cayden Johnson hit the ball into the same spot as Logsdon did for a run-scoring double and a 2-0 lead.
Gill escaped a bases-loaded jam in the first inning but Riverside Prep added another run in the fourth inning.
Cayman Pluma drove in a run with a triple by hitting the ball into the same right-center field spot as his teammates from earlier.
After Wednesday’s loss, Pluma was ready for the rematch on Friday.
“I was amped for it. I wanted this win, and we got it,” Pluma said.
Excelsior starts comeback, Pluma provides insurance
In the top of the fifth inning, Excelsior’s first two batters got on base, which knocked Riverside Prep starting pitcher Jacob Villegas out of the game.
Sarkesian came in and struck out Oerman, but Gill and Jacob Castillo followed with an RBI each to pull within a run.
Sarkesian got the final out of the inning with a strikeout.
Pluma added an insurance run in the sixth inning with a sacrifice bunt to make it 4-2 and sealed the deal.
What’s next
Riverside Prep resumes CVL action at home against Hesperia Christian on Wednesday afternoon, and then heads there on Friday. The Silver Knights were swept by the Patriots in their two-game series last year, and the teams split two games in 2022.
Meanwhile, Excelsior wraps up its season next week with two games against University Prep.
The Eagles are currently 5-1 in league play and could put themselves in a favorable position of splitting the league title by sweeping University Prep.
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Riverside Prep baseball bounces back in a crucial CVL showdown
