Vidrio leads Pirates to 2-1 win over Saddleback
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Saddleback | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 |
|
Orange Coast | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 2 | 7 | 0 |
COSTA MESA -- The Orange Coast College baseball team will be heading into postseason play with some momentum after a hard-fought 2-1 win over visiting Saddleback College on Thursday at Wendell Pickens Field.
With the win, the Pirates (21-15, 12-9 in conference) wrapped up third place in the OEC, putting Coast on the bubble for an opening-round home playoff series next weekend. The postseason seedings will be announced on Sunday.
Sophomore lefty Art Vidrio gave the Pirates the type of start an ace pitcher gives to his ballclub, allowing just one run on seven hits with one walk and six strikeouts over 8 2/3 innings. Reliever Scott Serigstad came in and struck out his only batter of the game to pick up his second save of the season.
The lone burst of offense for the Pirates came in the bottom half of the third inning. A one-out double by Jeff Nellis was followed by a single to shallow right off the bat of Chaneng Varela, putting runners on first and third. Tommy Bell followed with an infield single up the third-base line that scored Nellis and put Coast ahead, 1-0. Two batters later, Stephen Corona bounced a single up the middle that scored Varela to make it 2-0.
It would stay that way until the Gauchos (23-13, 10-11) tacked on a run in the top of the sixth when Colby Schultz lined a triple down the right-field line and scored on a single to center from Dylan Diaz.
But Vidrio settled down and retired the next two batters to prevent futher damage.
Saddleback starter Dominique Key (6-2) did his part to keep his team in the ballgame, allowing just two runs on six hits with three walks and four strikeouts over five innings, but Vidrio was just a little bit better to give Coast a much-needed victory.
Corona finished the game with two hits, including a double and one RBI, while Varela went 2-for-3 with a run scored for the Pirates.
