Robeniol fans 10 as Pirates take playoff opener over Jags

COSTA MESA -- Kyle Robeniol struck out 10 over seven strong innings to led the Orange Coast College baseball team to an 8-1 win over visiting Southwestern College in Game 1 of the Southern California Regional playoffs on Friday at Wendell Pickens Field.

Robeniol (7-0) allowed one unearned run on just two hits with three walks in a dominating 115-pitch performance. Reliever Doug Magee allowed just one hit over the final two frames to finish things up.

Travis Moniot went 2-for-3 with two runs, a two-run home run and three RBI for the top-seeded Pirates (32-9), while Ramiro Velasco added two hits and two RBI.

Coast got things going right away, taking a 1-0 lead in the first when J.T. Navarro led off with a single to left, advanced to second on a walk by Eric Wagaman, went to third on a fly out by Robert Teel and scored on a well-placed infield single by Velasco.

In the bottom of the third, OCC added two more runs on an RBI-double by Teel and an RBI-ground out by Velasco, putting Coast ahead, 3-0.

After pushing across runs in all shapes and sizes, Moniot went to the more conventional approach and lifted a two-run home run down the right-field line in the bottom of the fourth, putting the Pirates in front, 5-0. A bases-loaded hit-by-pitch by Walker Keller capped off the three-run frame and put Coast up, 6-0.

The 17th-seeded Jaguars (26-16) didn't help their cause in the bottom of the fifth as a pair of errors led to a pair of unearned runs to cap off OCC's afternoon. In all, Coast took advantage of four walks, three hit batters and three SWC errors as the Pirates grabbed a 1-0 lead in this best-of-three series.

Game 2 takes place on Saturday, beginning at 11 a.m., at Wendell Pickens Field, with a third game to immediately follow, if necessary.