Wagaman's three home runs power Pirates past Canyons
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Orange Coast | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 12 | 4 |
|
Canyons | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 1 |
SANTA CLARITA -- Playing in a hitter-friendly ballpark, the Orange Coast College baseball team enjoyed the surroundings and clubbed four home runs -- three by Eric Wagaman -- as the Pirates rolled past College of the Canyons, 7-3, on Tuesday.
Wagaman -- who became just the fourth Pirate to hit three HRs in one game (Derek Dehdashtian in 1998, Jason Reuss in 1999 and Jeff Piaskowski Jr. in 2003) -- went 3-for-5 with three runs and four RBI, while Jake Gozzo smacked a two-run home run of his own.
Coast (13-2) used an RBI-single by Ramiro Velasco to get things going in the top of the first before Wagaman and Gozzo each smacked two-run HRs in a four-run third inning, putting the Pirates up 5-0.
Wagaman's second HR of the game came in the fourth and it put OCC up 6-0, which was more than enough run support for starter Cameron Jabara. The freshman righty shook off a rough start in his last outing and improved to 4-1 after allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits over six innings with one walk and five strikeouts. Kyle Robeniol threw three scoreless innings with five strikeouts to collect his first save of the season.
After COC (7-6) cut the deficit to 6-3, Wagaman capped of his impressive day with this third HR, which came in the ninth inning, giving the slugger six home runs for the season.
The Pirates will take the rest of the week off before opening Orange Empire Conference play at home against Santa Ana on Tuesday, beginning at 2 p.m.
