Shorthanded Pirates fall to Tigers, 6-3

COSTA MESA -- The "dog days" of the Orange Empire Conference baseball season are officially upon the Orange Coast College baseball team as a recent string of injuries have plagued the Pirates and visiting Riverside City College took advantage with a 6-3 win on Tuesday at Wendell Pickens Field.

With an injured key infielder and injured middle-of-the-order outfielder out of the lineup, head coach John Altobelli had to move some players out of their normal positions and the results weren't pretty. Leading 3-1, Coast (21-4, 8-2 in conference) committed three errors, which led to three unearned runs as the Tigers (20-7, 8-2) rallied for the win and a share of first place atop the OEC standings.

But perhaps the biggest loss of the day came on the mound as starting pitcher and staff ace Kyle Robeniol had to leave the game just six batters into his start with an apparent injury. Reliever Blair Lewis came in and pitched well for four-plus innings before falling into some back luck in the top of the seventh.

In the seventh, Lewis struck out leadoff hitter Diego Guerrero, but the ball got by catcher Robert Teel, which allowed Guerrero to reach first. A bad-hop single off the bat of Jack Bailey put runners on first and second and both runners came around on a double to right-center off the bat of Dean Miller, who advanced to third on an error. Two batters later, Peter Gomez drove in Miller with a sacrifice fly, putting the Tigers ahead, 4-3.

In the top of the eighth, the Tigers used an error, an RBI-double, a sacrifice bunt and a run-scoring wild pitch to make it 6-3. Lewis (2-1) allowed five runs (only two earned) over 5 2/3 innings with two walks and six strikeouts. John Balliet kept Coast in the game with two scoreless innings of relief and four strikeouts.

Coast put the tying run at the plate in the form of slugger Wagaman, but the sophomore ended the game with a line-shot to third baseman Jake Barham, who dropped the ball, but managed to beat the runner to third for a force out to end the game.

Wagaman launched his 10th home run of the season in bottom of the first to tie the game at 1 and added a sacrifice fly in the third to put Coast ahead, 2-1.

In the bottom of the fourth, Ramiro Velasco broke out of an extended slump with a solo shot to right-center, his third of the season, which put OCC ahead, 3-1. He finished the game with a single, double and home run to lead the Pirates' offense. 

But Tigers' starter Blake Tuthill (7-1) kept the Pirates off the scoreboard the rest of the way, allowing three runs on seven this with two walks and eight strikeouts. Daniel Agramont wiggled out of the aforementioned ninth-inning jam to record his first save of the season.

Game 2 of this three-game series takes place on Thursday in Riverside, beginning at 2 p.m. with the series finale back at OCC's Wendell Pickens Field on Saturday, beginning at 12 p.m.