Braves drop two

The Westside Braves, Corning’s American Legion baseball club, put runs on the board late in both games against the Redding Vipers, but the Braves were swept June 8 in a doubleheader at Shasta College.
Redding 6, Westside 3
Daniel Mahutga kept Westside in the game with three shutout innings in relief, but the Braves’ seventh-inning rally wasn’t enough to overcome the Vipers, as Westside lost 6-3 in the opener.
In the seventh, Marc Mason led off with a single to left, and a base hit by Marcos Malagon put runners at the corners with no outs. Mason scored on a wild pitch, advancing Malagon into scoring position, and Austin Grootveld drilled another base hit to move Malagon to third base. Mahutga drove in Malagon with a ground out to the right side, and Javier Raygoza scored Grootveld with a single to right. Westside’s rally ended with the tying run on deck, however, as a flyout ended the game.
Malagon led the Braves offense, going 2-for-3 with a RBI and a run scored. He also stole a base in the fifth inning.
Mahutga came in from right field to pitch with a runner on in the fourth inning. He allowed three hits with no walks and struck out two batters.
Quintin Flores took the loss, tossing three-plus innings. He gave up six runs (four earned) on eight hits with one walk and one strikeout.
Redding 12, Westside 1
Despite struggling offensively, the Braves scored in the fifth inning to avoid a shutout in the second game, losing to the Vipers 12-1.
Alex Costa led off the fifth with a base hit, Malagon was hit by a pitch and Grootveld walked to load the bases with no outs. Javier Raygoza grounded out to the catcher and Costa was thrown out at the plate trying to score on the play, leaving runners at first and second with two outs.
Mahutga’s base on balls loaded the bases again, and Marc Mason singled to left for the run batted in.
Cody Fox singled in the fourth inning for the Braves’ only other hit.
Mason was charged with the loss on the mound, pitching the first two innings. He gave up five earned runs on 10 hits, with no walks, and struck out two batters.
Tyler McIntyre relieved in the third inning and finished the game. He gave up three earned runs on three hits, with no walks, three hit batters and one strikeout.