Maloney, Pirates topple Tigers, 8-3

COSTA MESA -- Several bad streaks ended and some new ones began for the Orange Coast College baseball team, who toppled Riverside City College, 8-3, on Saturday at John Altobelli Park.

Gone is the five game losing streak ... gone is the seven game home losing streak ... back is the "W" flag flying high above the centerfield backdrop. All smiles at the yard for the Pirates on Saturday.

Closer-turned-starter Matt Maloney aired things out on the mound for OCC (16-21, 6-12 in the Orange Empire Conference) and pitched seven strong innings, holding the Tigers (24-11, 12-6) to one run on four hits with eight strikeouts. Jonathan Robinson, back on the mound for the first time since his scary injury back on March 31, brushed off a shaky eighth inning and rolled through the ninth to preserve the win for the Pirates.

Cary Arbolida went 3-for-4 with two runs scored for OCC, while Jordan Ku went 2-for-3 with a home run, two runs and three RBI. Isaiah Morales and Logan Jackson each scored twice, while Konner Kincade used a safety squeeze and a sacrifice fly to plate a pair of runs.

Coast grabbed a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second when Morales singled to right-center, advanced to second on a bad pickoff attempt, moved over to third on a ground out by Ku and scored on the aforementioned squeeze off the bat of Kincade.

The Pirates took control of things in the bottom of the fourth. After Riverside tied the game in the third, an error, single and walk loaded the bases for Coast with nobody out. Ku drew a run-scoring walk to make it 2-0, ending the day for RCC starter Hayden Coon. Kincade lofted a sac fly to right to score Arbolida from third to make it 3-0 before Tyler Weaver (2-for-3, two RBI) collected a two-out, two-run single to left to make it 5-1.

Ku launched a solo home run to right-center -- his third of the season -- in the bottom of the sixth to make it 6-1 and it stayed that way until a pair of RCC runs cut the Pirate lead to 6-3.

But the Pirates responded in a big way in the bottom of the eighth, getting those two runs back. Jackson led off with a walk and moved to second on Arbolida's third hit of the afternoon. Morales flied out to right, moving Jackson to third and after Arbolida stole second, both runners moved up on a wild pitch, putting Coast ahead, 7-3. Ku came through with an RBI-single to right to score Arbolida to push OCC's lead back up to five at 8-3.

Robinson went back out for the ninth and worked a 10-pitch, 1-2-3 frame.

OCC returns to action on Tuesday at home against Santa Ana in the last series of the regular season, beginning at 2 p.m.