Corona Hangs On; Cypress Pulls Away

Cypress starter Ron Corona made enough good pitches when it counted and the Chargers’ offense then took over in an 18-6 victory over visiting Riverside Saturday in an Orange Empire Conference baseball game.

Corona, who gave up four unearned runs in the first inning, finished with eight strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings, but the final three were the key to the game.

Cypress led, 7-5, in the fifth when Riverside had the bases loaded, none out and a run in.

But Corona, who set the Cypress record for strikeouts in a game with 17 earlier this season, struck out the next three to end the threat.

“You’ve got to step forward in those situations and show what you’ve got,” said Corona, a sophomore right-hander with a 5-2 record.

Cypress scored five runs in the bottom of the fifth, capped by a two-run homer by Brandon Pack.

Michael Duursma had four hits, including a double, and drove in three runs and Adam Spiker had two doubles and a single and drove in four for first-place Cypress (18-6-1, 8-2).