Pirates' struggles continue with 7-1 loss to Riverside
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Riverside | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 12 | 0 |
|
Orange Coast | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 |
COSTA MESA -- The Orange Coast College baseball team picked the wrong time for a losing streak as the Pirates dropped their fifth straight in a 7-1 Orange Empire Conference loss to Riverside City College on Thursday at Wendell Pickens Field.
After the Pirates topped Irvine Valley, they were sitting at 6-6 in OEC play and had playoff dreams in their sights. Five games later, it's a different view as Coast dropped to 6-11 (15-17 overall) and are just two games ahead of last-place Irvine Valley in the standings.
Coast scored first in the bottom of the third when Nolan Powers walked, went to second on a sacrifice bunt by J.T. Navarro and scored two batters later on an RBI-single by Daniel Hawkins.
OCC starter Austin Moore wiggled in and out of danger throughout his start, but managed to keep the Tigers (19-13, 7-10) off of the scoreboard through 5 2/3 innings, allowing five hits and five walks with four strikeouts.
But the Tigers turned the game completely around with two big swings as Ryan Mota and Garrison each slugged pinch-hit, two-run home runs to cap off a seven-run seventh inning, putting RCC ahead for good. Michael Darr went 4-for-6 with a run and two RBI, while Anthony Ward added three hits for Riverside.
Coast, outscored 44-7 over this five-game slide, managed just five hits against the Tigers on Thursday and stranded 10 runners.
The Pirates and Tigers will wrap up their three-game series on Saturday at RCC, beginning at 12 p.m. OCC's final regular season home game will be on Thursday against Santa Ana at 2 p.m.
