Pirates find a way to tag a loss onto the Hornets
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Orange Coast | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 12 | 0 |
|
Fullerton | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 0 |
FULLERTON -- J.T. McLellan went 4-or-5 with a run scored and one RBI to lead the Orange Coast College baseball team to a 5-4 Orange Empire Conference road win against first-place Fullerton College on Thursday at Hornet Field.
While it wasn't a "must-win" game this early in the conference portion of the season, the road victory against the top-ranked team in the state will be a big boost in RPI points for the Pirates (12-11, 3-5 in OEC) as they try and earn a playoff spot for the 12th straight season.
John Balliet went 2-for-4 with two RBI, while Daniel Hawkins added two hits and two runs scored for the Pirates.
Coast trailed 2-0 and 3-2 early before plating single runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to grab a 5-3 advantage.
An RBI-single to right-center by Jaiden France scored Hawkins with the tying run in the top of the fifth before McLellan put OCC ahead for good with an RBI-single to left in the top of the sixth.
Nolan Powers ripped a run-scoring single through the left side in the top of the seventh to score Robert Teel, giving the Pirates a 5-3 advantage.
Austin Moore (1-2) threw four innings of solid relief to pick up the win, allowing one run on one hit with three strikeouts. Ryan Randel threw the final two innings and notched his first save of the year, allowing no runs, no hits, no walks and one strikeout along the way.
The Pirates and first-place Hornets (19-4, 7-1) will wrap up their three-game series on Saturday, at OCC's Wendell Pickens Field, beginning at 12 p.m.
