VERO BEACH, FLA. — The Riverland baseball team committed four errors and left 12 runners on base as it lost its season opener 9-5 to University of Connecticut-Avery Point in Vero Beach, Fla. Saturday.

“We made a lot of mistakes and it was the first time out for our a lot of our freshmen,” RCC head coach Scott Koenigs said. “We’ve got a lot of good baseball players and we’ll be real good. But it’s going to take awhile to process.”

Connor Hurst, a freshman from Madison, Wis., took the loss on the mound as he allowed five earned runs in three innings of work, to go along with the three unearned runs he allowed in the first inning.

“He struggled with his offspeed and that forced him to throw the fast ball and they hit it,” Koenigs said. “We expect him to come out much better in his next start.”

Austin grad Mike Tindal went 2-for-2 with a double and two RBIs for the Blue Devils (0-1 overall) against UCAP, which is ranked No. 7 in NJCAA Division II.

RCC was rained out Sunday, but it will continue play Monday against Montgomery-Rockville and Pro Teach Academy.

UCAP 4 0 2 3 0 0 0 — 9 7 2

RCC 0 2 0 1 0 0 2 — 5 6 4

RCC pitching: Connor Hurst (L), 3 IP, 6 H, 4 BB, 8 R, 5 ER, 2 K, 1 HBP; Marcus Kiewel, 3 IP, 4 H, 1 BB, 1 ER, 4 K; Dallas Coleman, 1 IP, 3 BB, 0 R, 1 K

RCC hitting: Tyler Krekling, 0-for-2, R, HBP; Joel Hollow, 1-for-1, R, HBP; Donte Beldsoe, 1-for-4, SB, BB; Victor Claudio, 1-for-1, R, BB; Aaron Palmer, 1-for-2, R; Chris May, 0-for-1, R, RBI, BB, HBP; Jason Kezman, 0-for-2, R, BB, HBP; Mike Tindal, 2-for-2, double, 2 RBIs; Jamey Adams, 0-for-3, HBP; Will McKnight, 0-for-1, HBP