Pirates blank Tigers, 7-0
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Orange Coast | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 9 | 0 |
|
Riverside | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
RIVERSIDE -- The trip was well worth it for the Orange Coast College softball team as the Pirates blanked host Riverside City College, 7-0, on Thursday in an Orange Empire Conference matchup, played at RCC.
Another strong performance from starting pitcher Ruby Fidge was the difference-maker for the state's fourth-ranked Pirates (25-4, 13-1 in the OEC) as the sophomore righty baffled the Tigers (11-22, 4-10) for six strong innings of work. Fidge held RCC to just one hit over that span and three total baserunners for the game.
RCC's Jessica Gaitan again showed a strong arm, but she was her own worst enemy as her seven strikeouts were trumped by her five walks and four hit batters.
Reyna Hernandez (3-for-4, two runs, one RBI) got Coast on the scoreboard first with an RBI-double to left, putting Coast up, 1-0 in the second inning. Later in that frame, a single and a hit batter loaded the bases before Kelsey McNair and Jasmyn Morales each earned RBI-walks to make it 3-0.
An RBI-single by McKenzie Koshi (3-for-3, two runs, one RBI) make it 4-0 in the fourth before blowing the game open in the fifth with three more runs. After an RCC fielding error scored OCC's first run of the frame, McNair singled up the middle to score a pair of runs to end the scoring for the Pirates.
The win keeps the Pirates ahead of second-place Cypress (8-2 in the OEC) with just a handful of games remaining for both teams. The Pirates and Chargers will kick off a crucial three-game series at OCC on Tuesday, beginning at 2 p.m. But before that, the Pirates will host RCC on Friday, beginning at 2 p.m. to wrap up this week's series with the Tigers.
