Sanchez earns win No. 10 as Pirates blank Tigers, 2-0
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Riverside | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
|
Orange Coast | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 2 | 4 | 0 |
COSTA MESA -- The right arm of Daniella Sanchez was the difference-maker for the Orange Coast College softball team as the Pirates shut down visiting Riverside City College, 2-0, on Tuesday at the OCC Softball Stadium.
Sanchez improved her record to 10-0 after holding the Tigers (11-21, 4-9 in the Orange Empire Conference) to just one hit, three walks and five strikeouts for the state's fourth-ranked Pirates (24-4, 12-1). She allowed just single runners on base and only one RCC baserunner reached scoring position the entire afternoon.
"Daniella is one of the hardest-working pitchers on our staff," OCC head coach Jodie Kiaha said. "She is decisive about the pitches that she throws and she has a sense of confidence about her. That is why she's doing so great."
Meanwhile, RCC's Jessica Gaitan (6-10) put on a pitching show of her own, holding the strong-hitting Pirates to just four hits and two unearned runs for the entire game. Her five walks allowed were evened out with her eight strikeouts.
Coast scored single runs in the second and third innings and Sanchez made sure they held up the rest of the way. In the second, Isabel Lopez hit a sinking single to left and after the ball got away from the RCC left-fielder, Lopez made it all the way around to third. Two batters later, Reyna Hernandez lined a sacrifice fly to left to score Lopez, putting Coast up, 1-0.
In the third, Frida Esters reached on an error and advanced to third on a double to right-center off the bat of Kelsey McNair. Jasmyn Morales made contact and her chopper to second was good enough to get Esters home with the second, and final run of the afternoon.
With the win, Coast stays one game up on Cypress (23-7, 6-2) in the battle for first place in the OEC standings, setting up an end-of-season series with the Chargers, beginning next week.
In the meantime, the Pirates and Tigers will play their second game of this week's three-game series on Thursday at RCC, beginning at 2 p.m. with the series finale back at OCC on Friday, also at 2 p.m.
