Pirates rally to tame Tigers, 7-6

COSTA MESA -- The Orange Coast College softball team overcame a late 5-2 deficit and rallied for a 7-6 Orange Empire Conference win over visiting Riverside City College on Wednesday at the OCC Softball Complex.

The Pirates took advantage of a four-error fifth inning by the Tigers and turned a three-run hole into a 7-5 lead. Riverside threatened in the top of the sixth with a run home, the bases loaded, nobody out and the heart of the RCC order coming up, but the Pirates made the big pitch and came up with the big plays needed to hold on for the win.

The craziness began in the bottom of the fifth, with the Pirates (7-18, 5-9 in OEC) down 5-2. A bunt single by Christina Freeman was sandwiched around a pair of RCC errors, loading the bases for OCC with nobody out. Anna Marin followed with a chopper to shortstop Danielle Lopez, who threw wide to third base, which allowed two runs to scored, cutting the lead to 5-4 and putting runners on second and third, still with nobody out.

Ariel Fernandez followed with a two-run single up the middle to put Coast ahead, 6-5 and two batters later, she came around on RCC's fourth error of the inning to make it 7-5.

Riverside (13-16, 5-10) would threaten in a big way in the top of the sixth when two walks and a single loaded the bases with nobody out and brought up the top of the RCC lineup. Jordan Emanuele, who finished the game 4-for-4, ripped a single to center to bring in a run and make it 7-6.

But relief pitcher Cayla Ezelle continued to battle and retired the next batter on a harmless shallow fly ball to left for the first out. 

RCC slugger Danielly Lopez, who homered and finished with two hits, two runs and two RBI, struck out on a high fastball for the second out.

Hunter LaCroix, who ripped a two-run home run earlier in the game, followed with a hard-hit chopper to second base, where Freeman aggressively gobbled it up and threw the batter out to end the threat.

After a 1-2-3 frame for the Pirate offense, Coast went back out and held down the one-run lead, thanks to a nice, running catch at the base of the right-field fence by Gretchen Hom to open the frame. An infield single was followed with a line-out to shortstop Taylor Gallo and a strikeout by Ezelle to end the game.

Hom went 2-for-3, while Gallo and Marin each went 1-for-3 with an RBI. Linnea Donahugh went 1-for-4 with two runs scored and Emma Silvestri added an RBI-triple to the Coast offense.

The Pirates will return to action on Friday at Cypress College, beginning at 2 p.m. OCC's next home game will take place on Friday, April 15 against Saddleback, also at 2 p.m.