Ninth-inning rally propels Pirates past Bobcats
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Orange Coast | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 2 |
|
Saddleback | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 9 | 2 |
MISSION VIEJO -- The Orange Coast College baseball team -- down two runs in the ninth and down to their last out of the game -- pulled out an improbable victory on Tuesday, shocking Saddleback College, 8-7, on Tuesday at Saddleback College.
After falling behind 4-0 after the first two innings, Coast rallied with five runs over the next three and after six innings, the score was tied at 5.
Saddleback responded with single runs in the seventh and eighth innings to take a 7-5 lead into the top of the ninth.
Things looked rather bleak when the first two batters of the inning struck out. But Gibson Rath kept life in the Pirates with a hit-by-pitch, setting up the Coast comeback dramatics. Tyler Covington and Mikey Hanano each followed with singles to load the bases, putting further pressure on the Bobcat pitching staff.
Kael Corridan followed with a game-tying single to right-center, scoring Covington and Rath to tie the game at 7.
After a pitching change, Tyler Arevalos put the final nail in the coffin with a game-winning RBI-single to left-center, scoring Hanano to put Coast up, 8-7.
Relief pitcher Landon Veirs (1-0) took it from there and kept the Bobcats quiet in the ninth with a 1-2-3 frame, earning the win.
A crucial moment of the game came in the bottom of the eighth when Saddleback loaded the bases with one out, a run already in. Keith Aguilar came in to pitch and retired his lone batter for the second out. Veirs, after an intentional walk, struck out the next batter with the bases re-loaded to hold the Bobcats to just one run, keeping the game close enough for OCC's ninth-inning dramatics.
Covington went 2-for-4 with a run scored, while Rath added a hit, two runs and an RBI for the Pirates.
Game 2 of this three-game series takes place on Thursday at John Altobelli Ballpark, beginning at 1 p.m.
