Huntington Beach, Calif. – The Golden West Rustlers won the Orange Empire Conference title after defeating the Riverside Tigers 5-1 at home. With the win, Golden West finished first in the conference with a conference record of 15-6 (23-13 overall).  

In the 5-1 victory, second baseman Dillon Persinger led the team with three hits. Center fielder James Stea scored two runs on 2-for-4 hitting and catcher Chris Williams hit a two-run home run in the bottom third.

A.J. Dean improved to 6-3 after tossing seven innings, giving up just one run, and striking out five. Alec Harris came in relief work to pitch the final two innings and recorded his third save of the season. Harris ended the game with three strikeouts and allowed no runs. 

The Rustlers capped off the regular season with eight consecutive wins. Golden West now awaits the schedule for the first round of regionals, which is set to begin on Friday, May 1.