Pirates clobber Roadrunners in series opener
COSTA MESA -- Zach Nehrir went 3-for-6 with a double, triple, grand slam and seven RBI to lead the Orange Coast College baseball team to a convincing 17-5 nonconference win over visiting College of the Desert on Thursday at Wendell Pickens Field.
In their biggest offensive showing of the 2013 season, the Pirates (7-2) slugged out 18 hits, including four doubles, two triples and Nehrir's aforementioned four-run dinger.
Trailing 2-0, Coast grabbed the lead for good with the help of a six-run second inning and never looked back. In that frame, Manny Argomaniz led off with a bunt single, stole second and, after a Christian Fillingame walk, scored on an RBI single by Cody Bruder (2-for-4, one run, one RBI). Jake Toll-McKillop was hit by a pitch to load the bases and Nehrir cleared them all with a line shot over the left-field fence, OCC's first home run of the season. Ricky Navarro (2-for-4, one run, one RBI) followed with a double to left and scored on an RBI-single by Danny Jimenez.
That was more than enough for sophomore righty Dallas Draviczki (2-0), who allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits over five innings to pick up the win.
While the Pirate pitchers controlled the Roadrunner bats, OCC's offense kept applying the pressure, scoring two runs in the third, one in the fourth, three more in the fifth, one in the seventh and four in the eighth.
Other offensive stars for the Pirates included Fillingame (2-for-3, two runs), Greg Espinosa (2-for-5, three runs, two RBI), Jake Toll-McKillop (2-for-4, two runs, one RBI).
The Pirates and Roadrunners (2-6) will continue their three-game series at OCC on Friday, beginning at 2 p.m. The series finale will take place on Saturday, beginning at 12 p.m.
