COMMUNITY COLLEGE ROUNDUP : France’s 3-Hitter Propels Cypress Into First Place

Aaron France pitched a three-hitter as Cypress beat Riverside, 8-1, Tuesday in Riverside and moved into first place in the Orange Empire Conference baseball race.

France (7-0) struck out six and didn’t allow an earned run for the Chargers (19-5, 6-2), who are percentage points ahead of Riverside (17-5, 7-3).

Augie Ojeda and David Trentine each had three hits for Cypress.

In other Orange Empire baseball games:

Golden West 6, Orange Coast 5--Phil Ruhl hit a three-run double in the top of the seventh inning to cap a rally by Golden West (10-11, 4-6). Garrett Vitale had two hits, including a two-run home run, and scored two runs for Golden West. Mando Fonseca had three hits, including a triple, and scored a run for Orange Coast (3-15, 0-10).

Saddleback 8, Fullerton 2--Rich Kleckner was three for three with two runs batted in and Tim Wolter added three hits and three runs scored for the visiting Gauchos. Jeff Biron (3-1) pitched 5 2/3 innings to earn the victory for Saddleback (11-7-1, 6-4). John Gardikis had two hits and scored twice for Fullerton (11-10-1, 5-5). Zeke Barrios (3-2) took the loss.

In the South Bay Classic baseball tournament:

Rancho Santiago 13, East Los Angeles 5--Jason Minici had three hits, four RBIs and scored two runs for Rancho Santiago (18-5) in the semifinal victory.