Pirates drop fourth straight as Gauchos prevail, 9-1

COSTA MESA -- With the end of the 2013 regular season coming to an end, the struggles of the Orange Coast College baseball team are coming at a very inopportune time.

For the second game in a row, the Saddleback College Gauchos used a dominating pitching performance from their starter to shut down the Pirates, winning 9-1 on Saturday at Wendell Pickens Field.

It's OCC's fourth loss in a row and first four-game losing streak in 132 games dating back to April 2-10 of 2010.

Gauchos' starter Tyler Brashears (7-2) went the distance for Saddleback (23-11, 11-8 in Orange Empire Conference) allowing one unearned run on just four hits with one walk and three strikeouts. The freshman righty kept the Pirates (21-13, 9-10) guessing all afternoon as he retired the side in six of his nine innings of work. Even in the ninth, Brashears used a double-play grounder to keep the batter minimum in check a seventh time.

With the Gauchos leading by just a run in the seventh (2-1), first baseman Mitchell Holland gave the guests the breathing room they've been looking for when he slugged a three-run home run, putting Saddleback in front, 5-1.

The Gauchos tacked on two more runs in the seventh and two more in the ninth to blow the game open as Brashears took over from there.

The Pirates' lone run came in the bottom of the fourth when Ricky Navarro singled to right and advanced to second on a Gaucho fielding error. He advanced to third on a ground out by Danny Jimenez and two batters later, scored on an infield single by Manny Argomaniz.

Following that fourth inning, Brashears clamped down and retired 14 of the final 16 batters he faced to pick up the win.

With the win, Saddleback is now alone in third place, one game behind second-place Riverside. The loss puts OCC alone in fifth place with just two games remaining.

The Pirates will wrap up the regular season at home on Tuesday against Irvine Valley (2 p.m.) and on Thursday at IVC (2 p.m.).