Pirates complete series sweep over Tigers
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Riverside | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 1 |
|
Orange Coast | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | X | 6 | 6 | 2 |
COSTA MESA -- The Orange Coast College softball team did its part to set up a fantastic upcoming series after topping visiting Riverside City College, 6-3, on Friday at the OCC Softball Stadium.
The state's fourth-ranked Pirates (26-4, 14-1), winners of eight straight and 9-of-10, completed the series sweep over the Tigers (11-23, 4-11) and will now take on state No. 9, Cypress College (25-7, 9-2) to wrap up their regular season with the opportunity for a long-awaited conference championship on the line.
The Pirates broke a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the second inning when Olivia Pedraza slammed a three-run home run to left, putting Coast up 4-1. She finished the afternoon 1-for-1 with two runs scored and three RBI.
Riverside stayed close and tacked on a pair of runs in the top of the third, but OCC would respond with single runs in the third and fourth innings before reliever Kelsey McNair slammed the door shut for the final two innings.
Camila Hernandez improved to 4-0 for the Pirates, holding RCC to three runs (two earned) on six hits. McNair earned her sixth save with two hitless innings of work, striking out four along the way.
Vanessa Soto went 2-for-2 with a run and an RBI for the Pirates, while Isabel Lopez and McKenzie Koshi each went 1-for 3 with a run scored.
Game one of next week's crucial three-game series with the Chargers takes place on Tuesday at Cypress College, beginning at 2 p.m. Game 2 will be at OCC on Thursday (3 p.m.) with the series finale back at Cypress on Friday, (2 p.m.).
