Pirates come up short against Tigers
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Riverside | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 1 |
|
Orange Coast | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
COSTA MESA -- The Orange Coast College softball team fought the No. 2 team in the state -- the Riverside City College Tigers -- to a full seven innings before the Tigers finally prevailed, 7-0, on Friday at the OCC Softball Complex.
After falling by lopsided scores in just five innings in the previous two meetings, the Pirates used some strong defense and solid relief pitching by Jessica Morrow to hold the Tigers in check down the stretch.
Morrow threw the final five innings for the Pirates and allowed just one run on seven hits, walking one and striking out three along the way.
Riverside's starting pitcher, Chelsea Ponce improved to 15-2 overall by going the distance, allowing no runs on two hits with one walk and five strikeouts.
OCC's lone hits came off of the bats of Katie Kendrick (a single to right-center in the second inning) and Jessica Amaral (an infield hit in the seventh).
Coast nearly scored in the seventh when Morrow ripped a shot to the right side with runners on the corners. However, second baseman Gina Grijalva reached out and made stellar catch of the line-drive to end the game.
Olivia Fimbres and Nicole Barrios each went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI to lead the Tigers, while Courtney Brown added hit, a run scored and two RBI.
OCC will return to action on Wednesday at Santiago Canyon College, beginning at 3 p.m. Coast's next home game will be on Wednesday, April 17 against Saddleback, also at 3 p.m.
