Rodriguez Dominates Again, Vault-Tec Wins Mojave Series
Game three may have been an epic battle with one unearned run doing Ricardo Rodriguez in. But that had nothing to do with game six, where Rodriguez pitched 8.2 innings of dominant baseball in helping the Vault Boys win the Mojave Series.
Vault-Tec won 6-1 over North Vegas.
Rodriguez finished the game giving up one earned run on seven hits with five strikeouts. He threw 124 pitches before being pulled with two outs in the ninth after giving up a double and single. Wally Grant finished the game.
Rich Richmond was the losing pitcher, allowing four earned runs on four hits with two walks in only two innings.
The Vault Boys jumped out to an early lead on Richmond and the Radscorpions in the top of the first. Angel Serrano led off with a walk, followed by a Tony Donnellson double to move Serrano to third. James Sexton then hit an RBI ground out for a 1-0 lead. Joseph Dillon followed with an RBI single for a 2-0 lead.
North Vegas also scored in the first. With one out, Kirby Brown hit a solo home run. That would be all the scoring the Radscorpions would have off Rodriguez.
In the second, the Vault Boys extended their lead. Vaughn was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Rodriguez then bunted him over to second. Serrano then doubled in Vaughn for a 3-1 lead. With two outs, Sexton singled in Serrano for a 4-1 lead.
Carlos Gonzalez replaced Richmond in the third. MC Mack Walt Williams led off with a single for the Vault Boys. Anthony Savage and Raul Castro then walked to load the bases. Vaughn followed that up by knocking in Williams on a sacrifice fly for a 5-1 advantage.
The series’ final run came in the ninth. John Mulvaney saw his first action of the postseason in relief for North Vegas. With one out, Sexton and Dillon walked. With two outs, Savage hit an RBI single for the 6-1 final.
Based on his two-game performance, Rodriguez was named the Mojave Series MVP. In two games, Rodriguez finished 1-1 with a 0.54 ERA. He allowed two runs, one earned, on eight hits with a walk and 11 strikeouts in 16.2 IP. Rodriguez did not play in the first round series due to injury.