Baseball team loses in 11 innings at Fullerton to end year

Baseball team loses in 11 innings at Fullerton to end year

The Irvine Valley baseball team's season came to an end on Thursday with another close and disappointing loss.

The Lasers fell to Fullerton, 3-2, in 11 innings in an Orange Empire Conference game at Fullerton.

Irvine Valley finished the season with a record of 10-26 overall and 4-17 in the Orange Empire Conference.

The Lasers lost 14 games this year by two runs or less, including six of those by a single run.

Irvine Valley started conference play 2-0, but dropped 17 of their last 19 games in conference.

On Thursday, Irvine Valley got on the board first. Sophomore right fielder Andrew De La Riva scored on a groundout by freshman first baseman Nate Cervantes to make it 1-0.

Fullerton tied the game in the bottom of the fourth inning with a run, which was unearned.

IVC went back on top in the top of the sixth on a RBI single by sophomore left fielder Matt Harris.

But again, Fullerton tied the game with a run in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Neither team scored in the ninth or 10th innings.

Fullerton pushed the winning run across in the bottom of the 11th on two hits and an error. The error allowed Kodi Diamond to bring in the walk-off run.

The loss spoiled a spectacular effort on the mound by sophomore right-hander Jesus Meza.

In his final start for IVC, Meza went 10 innings and gave up two runs (one earned) on eight hits and three walks with six strikeouts.

Sophomore Jeremy Ibarra took the loss in relief.

Irvine Valley out-hit Fullerton, 13-10, in the contest, but the Lasers could only scratch out the two runs.

Harris went 3 for 5 with one RBI, sophomore second baseman Dallas Porter was 2 for 5 with a run scored and De La Riva went 2 for 4 with a walk and a run scored.

Nine Irvine Valley players had at least one hit.