Pirates silence GW bats, tame Rustlers, 3-1

COSTA MESA -- The pitching tandem of Ashlee Kean and Angela Whitmer kept Golden West at bay for seven innings, allowing the Orange Coast College softball team a relatively stress-free 3-1 Orange Empire Conference win over the rival Rustlers on Monday at the OCC Softball Complex.

Kean got things going and allowed just one run on four hits over 3 1/3 innings for the Pirates (7-14, 4-6 in the OEC) before giving way to Whitmer (2-8), who went the rest of the way and held the Rustlers (9-11, 2-6) to just two hits with three strikeouts over 3 2/3 scoreless innings of work. 

Aolani Sua (3-6) took the loss for GWC in spite of a solid performance, allowing three runs (two earned on seven hits with two walks.

After a double-steal put the Rustlers on the scoreboard in the top of the first, Coast grabbed the lead away from the guests with two runs in the bottom of the third. With two outs and a runner on second base, Isabel McElroy singled and advanced to second on a fielding error by the GWC right-fielder, scoring Taylor Nguyen to make it 1-1. Leila Chavez followed with a single to center, which brought in McElroy to put the Pirates ahead, 2-1.

Golden West's biggest threat of the game occurred in the top of the fourth when two singles and a walk loaded the bases with only one out. But Whitmer came up big with a pair of strikeouts to end the Rustlers' threat.

In the bottom of the fourth, Coast added an insurance run when Taylor Andolsek lined a double into the right-center field gap, scoring pinch runner Aliyah Hill to put Coast up, 3-1.

GWC had baserunners on over its final three innings of at-bats, but Whitmer never let up and kept the Rustlers from scoring the rest of the way. GWC stranded eight on the bases throughout the game.

OCC will return to action on Tuesday at home against Fullerton College, beginning at 3 p.m.