Reiter, Nguyen power Saints to 6-5 victory over Barons

PASADENA, CA — The month of June ended on a low point for the Arroyo Seco Saints: a blowout 22-2 loss that saw them drop to 6-13 on the season. As the calendar turned to a new month, however, the opportunity arose to start fresh and forge a new path.

If Wednesday's game is any indication, July's path looks to be a lot smoother.

Arroyo Seco (7-13) kicked off the new month with a win Wednesday night, overcoming an early deficit to best the Academy Barons (11-9), 6-5. The Saints were powered by stellar performances from Evan Reiter (Santa Ana College) and Brandon Nguyen (Undecided), who combined for five hits and four RBIs in addition to crucial defensive plays.

"We're a July team; we've been saying that," Reiter said in a postgame interview. "It's nice to get the first win out of the way, and we're just going to keep rolling and build[ing] that team chemistry."

After Academy got off to an early 4-0 lead, Reiter put Arroyo Seco on the board in the second inning with a solo home run — his first of the season. Bryce Robinette (Undecided) tacked on an RBI double, driving in Dylan Immel (Undecided) to make it 4-2. 

Just minutes later, Reiter was the star of another highlight-reel play; on a deep fly ball into right field, he reached over the wall to make an acrobatic grab, robbing the Barons of a home run.

"I think that's the first time I've ever done that in my career. I didn't even know I could do that," Reiter said. "I saw the ball go up, and I was like, 'We're catching this,' and made the catch."

Reiter wasn't the only beneficiary of the long ball: Nguyen hit his first homer of the summer as well, going deep in the fourth inning to cut the lead to 4-3. Though the Barons added a run in the fifth, the Saints responded with two runs in the bottom of the frame, tying the game for the first time since the first inning.

In the end, it was none other than Reiter and Nguyen who put Arroyo Seco on top for good. Reiter showed off his speed with an infield single for his third hit, and Nguyen brought him home with a double, giving the Saints their first lead of the night.

Meanwhile, Daniel Vergara (Undecided) was lights-out on the mound, throwing four scoreless innings in relief to keep the Barons at bay. Nguyen added a spectacular diving catch in the eighth for good measure, preventing the potential game-tying run from reaching base.

"[I had to] try and make a play for my guy," Nguyen said in a postgame interview. "The pitching was nails for us all night long."

After Arroyo Seco's pitching struggled for much of June, Vergara's outing Wednesday may be a sign of better things to come; the Saints will need all facets of their game to be as strong as possible to stay in competition for a spot in the CCL Playoffs.

Arroyo Seco will look to stay in the win column Thursday night when it faces the San Diego Waves (3-5) for the second time this season. First pitch is scheduled for 5:35 p.m.

Contributors:

• Saints reporter: Bennett Christofferson (USC)