Pirates use 9-run ninth to shock Vikings
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Orange Coast | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 13 | 15 | 0 |
|
Long Beach | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 12 | 0 |
LONG BEACH -- One thing is becoming abundantly apparent for the 2022 Orange Coast Baseball team ... expect the unexpected.
Trailing 9-4 with one out and nobody on in the top of the ninth inning, the visiting Pirates went bananas and scored NINE runs to shock Long Beach City College, 13-9, on Thursday at LBCC.
Coast (7-4) used four walks and five hits -- including a game-winning grand slam off the bat of Cary Arbolida -- to spoil the long holiday weekend for the host Vikings (5-6).
In that fateful ninth, Arbolida started the rally, innocently enough, with a one-out walk. Tyler Weaver moved him to second with a single to right and he would score on an RBI-single by Isaiah Morales. Zach Crandall walked to load the bases and Alex Talamante drove in two more with a clutch single to make it 9-7 ... still with only one out.
Alec Gomez made it 9-8 with an RBI-single before Cameron Mahaffy walked to load the bases. Logan Jackson worked a game-tying walk to score Talamante before Arbolida greeting new pitcher Owen Kendrick with the tie-breaking grand slam over the left-field fence, putting the Pirates up for good.
Jonathan Robinson pitched a scoreless eighth to pick up the win before Maloney wrapped things up with a scoreless ninth, striking out the side for good measure.
Coast pounded out 15 hits and scored 13 runs against the Vikings and needed all of them to get this unlikely win. Arbolida finished 3-for-5 with two runs and four RBI. Gomez came up big from the No. 9 spot in the order, going 3-for-5 with a run and three RBI. Logan Jackson came off the bench and ripped a two-run home run to go with two runs scored and three RBI, while Talamante and Tyler Weaver each had two hits for OCC.
Moises Guzman, LBCC's starting pitcher, was his own biggest helper with four hits, including two home runs (one a grand slam) and six RBI.
The head-shaking fun continues on Saturday at John Altobelli Park against Mt. San Antonio, beginning at 12 p.m.
