Kicking off the Trans-Valley League campaign with a pair of games against Escalon, the varsity Bruin baseball boys lost both, traveling first to Escalon for a game and then hosting the Cougars on Friday.

In the TVL opener for both teams on Wednesday, March 19, the host Cougars defeated the visiting Bruins by a final of 11-2.

Cougar pitcher Robby Rickman had a perfect game through five innings, but then the Bruins worked out a couple of walks, and took advantage of an error to get a couple of runs across the plate.

Escalon took the lead with three runs in the first and three more in the second to go up 6-0 before Riverbank scratched back for their pair in the top of the fifth, trimming the lead to 6-2. Escalon answered with five runs in the bottom of that frame to seal the win.

Friday, it was the Bruins turn to host, but the result was another loss for Riverbank, as the varsity Escalon team took a 12-1 victory in four innings due to the 10-run rule. Escalon scored a single run in the first inning, six in the second, two in the third and three in the fourth, rapping out a dozen hits on the day. Riverbank got a single run in the second and had four hits in the game.

JV

The young Bruins had a tough time in Escalon, falling in an 8-0 decision on Wednesday. Eight players struck out against Escalon pitching, though the JV Bruins did also get four hits on the day.

Friday, the Riverbank boys put up a fight and took an early lead, looking to get into the win column.

The Bruins scored five runs to take a 5-0 lead in the second, but Escalon answered back with five runs to tie it up in the third. Then, an 11-run fifth inning for the visiting Cougars proved too much to overcome for the host Riverbank JV boys, as they lost 16-5.

The game only went five innings due to the 10-run rule.

Action for the teams this week is scheduled to include a game at home hosting Orestimba on Wednesday, March 26 and a road game at Orestimba on Friday, March 28.