Hornets finish with come-from-behind win

Pitching was not a strength of the Fullerton Hornets baseball team this season, but starter Allen Rodarte failed to get the memo.

Rodarte pitched a five-hit complete game in the season finale to lead the team to an 8-6 defeat of the Riverside Tigers. Rodarte allowed six runs, five earned on his way to six strikeouts and improved to 5-3.

“I just tried to keep the ball down in the zone and tried to focus on hitting my spots with authority,” Rodarte said. “Throwing first-pitch strikes against every batter was helpful because it opened up different options for the following pitches.”

The sophomore pitcher fell behind the Tigers in the 1st inning off a Brandon Day single. Day got caught stealing to end the first, but not before Wynton Bernard came across to score the second run of the inning. 

Rodarte answered by putting up zeros through the next seven innings, giving his team a chance to score some runs.  Aaron Orona hit a two-RBI triple to right center field capping a three-run 6th inning giving the Hornets a 5-2 lead. 

“It was big to have the offense to answer back early because the previous game we didn’t score any runs,” Rodarte said. “Knowing that my team was scoring early made me relax because I knew I didn’t have to throw a perfect game.”

Tigers’ starting pitcher Devin Johnson pitched five innings,  surrendering four runs, two earned on eight hits. Johnson took the loss for the Tigers, falling to 4-4.  

Orona finished 3-for-4 with three RBI while George Flores went 2-for-5 with two runs scored. Flores finished the season with seven home runs, 19 RBI and a .348 batting average. Flores suffered a wrist injury that brought down his power numbers, but never missed a beat with his glove at first base. 

“A lot of my success this year came from all the hard work I put in this off-season,” Flores said. “My coach Tim Jones helped me through my ups and downs.”

The Hornet first baseman had a .985 fielding percentage and made the second all Orange Empire Conference team. Flores was also awarded the Kenny Humphrey award, an award that is given to the most inspirational player each season.

No Hornet had a better season than Catcher Nick O’Loughlin. He did a great job behind the plate with a .982 fielding percentage in a team-high 33 games played. 

O’Loughlin hit .355 on the season with nine home runs and 36 RBI and 36 runs scored. He was named first team all Orange Empire Conference as well as the team’s most valuable player.

“Great accomplishment, the satisfaction of seeing results after a year of hard work,” O’Loughlin said. “I could not have done any of this without my teammates and my coaching staff.”

The Hornets finished the season with a 13-22 overall record and a 8-13 Orange Empire Conference record. Nick Fuscardo’s Hornets head into the off season with some rebuilding to do. They will be without key players O’Loughlin, Flores, Rodarte, Tony McClendon, Eric Dow, Lyle Kitagawa, and Ben Owens, who are all sophomores. 

“Those guys were huge. They came back with experience, bigger and stronger. They were critical in us having the success that we did have,” Fuscardo said. “We are out looking for players that can help us win.”