Pirates prep for Cypress in Super Regionals showdown

COSTA MESA -- The Orange Coast College softball team is definitely in the rarest of air as the Pirates take on Cypress in the Southern California Super Regional playoffs, which kick off on Friday at 2 p.m. at Cypress College.

Game 2 of this best-of-three series takes place on Saturday at 12 p.m., with the third game (if necessary) set to follow after Game 2 on Saturday. All three games will be at Cypress College.

After making some history last weekend following a three-game series win over Bakersfield in the SoCal Regionals, the seventh-seeded Pirates (27-13) enter this weekend's showdown with the No. 2-seeded Chargers (35-7), who upended No. 15 College of the Canyons, 9-2 and 9-0 last weekend.

Coast picked up playoff wins for the first time in over 30 years after overcoming a 2-1 loss on Friday to win 6-0 and 7-3 on Saturday to advance to the next level of the playoffs.

"Our team was ready to go on Saturday," OCC head coach Jodie Kiaha said. "We made some key offensive adjustments and settled into our game. I'm so proud of our fight. This squad has moxie and understands how to compete to win. They show up with a purpose every day and play as a unit."

One player in particular who picked a good time to have a GREAT weekend was outfielder Reyna Hernandez, who anchored the OCC Saturday comeback with a laser show at the plate. After hitting a solo home run in Friday's loss to the Renegades, Hernandez kept ON swinging a powerful bat. In fact, over the past four games, Hernandez has done 5-for-13 with five home runs, four runs scored and 10 RBI. For the season, the freshman standout from Santa Clara's Wilcox HS is hitting .250, but with a team-best nine home runs and 32 RBI. " Last weekend I was just happy to see my mom come out and see me play here in Southern California," Hernandez said. "It feels like I'm back (at the plate).  I was struggling in the beginning in the season because I knew what i was capable of helping my team.  To finally execute and help my team as a hitter feels like grace. I am happy that when I am up to bat, my teammates support me and I have their back at the plate. The difference is I'm not worried whether I strike out or make a big hit. Because either way, I know my team is going to have a positive response every time." 

OCC pitchers continued to shine this weekend as well. Freshman Ruby Fidge pitched Games 1 and 3 and allowed a total of five runs (three earned) over 14 innings with seven strikeouts. In Game 2, Angela Whitmer improved to 14-5 for the season after seven shutout innings in a must-win game for the Pirates, holding BC to no runs on five hits with two walks and five strikeouts. Coast has done the "little things" well from top to bottom and Kiaha feels like the team's success lies within the entire group, not just 2-3 standouts.

While the casual fan looks at OCC stats and not get overly excited, there are some key numbers to focus on ... 

Players like sophomores Natalie Lowthers (.390, 49 hits, 22 RBI), Isabel McElroy (.390, 43 hits, 33 runs, 19 RBI), Jasmyn Morales (.321, 36 hits, 26 RBI) and McKenzie Koshi (.333, 34 hits, 25 runs) have produced throughout the season, but as a team, OCC's .966 fielding percentage (10th-best in the state) and 15 double plays (T-4th in the state) are some underlying metrics that have put OCC in this position as much as the pitching and the hitting have.

"We are from the top down, a team of collective efforts," Kiaha said. "Our approach is one that focuses on a solid routine, and executing in key moments. The players understand that there are two sides of a ballgame: offense and defense. Competing and executing on both sides of an inning is what is standard here, and it has allowed us to manage our attack in games successfully."

While this is unchartered waters for up-and-coming Pirates, for the Chargers, co-inhibitors with the Pirates in the Orange Empire Conference, this is business as usual for the 10-time state champions. Sophomore Kaitlyn Reynolds will be in the circle throughout the series, much like she's been in every series this season in the Orange Empire Conference. The standout pitcher for the Chargers is 34-7 with 26 complete games and a 1.19 ERA, allowing just 43 earned runs with 152 strikeouts in 252 innings. Oh yeah, she's also hitting .341 with 44 hits and a team-best 32 RBI, sharing the run-driving lead with teammate Jaylene Duarte (.341, 3 HR, 32 RBI). Top hitter for Cypress is leadoff hitter Julia Doan, who enters this weekend's Super Regional with a .415 average, 51 hits, 41 runs and 35 stolen bases.

"They (Cypress) have had past success and we respect them as opponents," Kiaha said. "They will be tough but so are we. I anticipate a great series against them."

While the bad news for Pirate fans is that out of 42 games, Cypress has won 37 of them. The "good" news is one of those losses came at the hands of the Pirates -- 2-1 -- at Cypress College, back on April 12. Morales drove in both runs and McElroy went 2-for-3 with a run scored to help spark the win against the Chargers. Since that setback, Cypress has reeled off nine straight wins.

As for the Pirates, whether the season continues from here or comes to an end this weekend, it's been a season to never forget as the softball program has continued its path towards the goal of becoming a consistently winning program. "Taking the first step and winning regionals as a softball program felt like we deserved it," Hernandez said. "We started from nothing and no one expected us to make it this far. As a program, we worked hard on and off the field to get where we want to.  I would consider this a step for more schools to recognize OCC softball as a competitive and growing program that's only going to get better."