Pirates run over Roadrunners in season opener
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Desert | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 5 |
|
Orange Coast | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 2 | X | 17 | 17 | 0 |
COSTA MESA -- The hits and runs came early and often for the Orange Coast College baseball team as the Pirates kicked off the 2017 season with a 17-1 win over visiting College of the Desert on Saturday at Wendell Pickens Field.
Thirteen different Pirate players had hits, including Travis Moniot, Nolan Powers, Jake Gozzo and Jacob White, who each had two. Moniot also slugged a two-run home run and finished with four RBI. Daniel Hawkins came into the game as a pinch hitter and finished with a two-run HR and three RBI.
Sophomore starter Kyle Robeniol picked up the win after throwing five scoreless innings. The University of Oregon bounceback allowed just three hits, one walk and nine strikeouts in a 73-pitch performance. The relief trio of Austin Moore, Jacob Higareda and Matt Tomazin combined for seven more Ks, giving the Pirate hurlers 16 for the afternoon.
Coast grabbed a 2-0 lead on Moniot's two-run shot to right in the bottom of the third inning and the Pirates never looked back, tacking on two more runs in the fourth and six more in the fifth to blow the game wide open.
Jake Meza (0-1) took the loss for Desert (0-2) after allowing four runs on seven hits over four innings. The relief corps didn't offer much relief as four other pitchers combined for 13 runs (10 earned) on 10 hits and five walks.
Dating back to last year, Coast is 4-0 against the Roadrunners, outscoring them 52-2 over that span.
The Pirates will travel to Southwestern on Tuesday (2 p.m.) before opening up a three-game home series with Cuesta College, beginning on Thursday (2 p.m.).
