Pirates reclaim first after solid performance
RIVERSIDE -- The Orange Coast College golf team reclaimed first place in the Orange Empire Conference standings following a 6-1 record in Monday's conference matchup at Riverside Country Club.
Palomar won Monday's event by shooting a 379. Orange Coast and Saddleback each shot a 383, but the Pirates earned the second spot in a cardoff (81-82). Cypress, Santiago Canyon, Riverside, Irvine Valley and Cuyamaca round out the standings of the day.
With the Pirates finishing second and the Hawks taking fifth, OCC (27-8) moved ahead of SCC (26-9) in the standings with three events to go before the two-round OEC Championships on April 29.
Kyle Melchiorre led the way for Coast, shooting a 2-over-par 74, while Michael Chen and Marcus Mercado-Kiel were close behind with a 4-over 76.
David Pelekoudas carded a 78 and Kyle Pollema posted a 79 to round out OCC's team scoring. However, by tiebreaker rules, the Pirates and Gauchos went to a sixth golfer to decide the order of finish. OCC's Riley Murphy carded an 81, which edged out Drew Bradley's 82, giving Coast second place.
The OEC goes at it again on Monday when OCC heads to El Prado, beginning at 12 p.m.
