Pirates come up short in season finale to Dons, 5-3
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Santa Ana | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 0 |
|
Orange Coast | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
COSTA MESA -- The 2022 season has come to a close for the Orange Coast College baseball team following Friday afternoon's 5-3 Orange Empire Conference loss to visiting Santa Ana at John Altobelli Park.
It was a struggle for the Pirates in the final third of the season, but the team fought all the way until the final out of the season finale. Coast trailed 5-1 after five innings and used a pair of sacrifice fly balls from Jake Lappin and Jordan Ku to trim the deficit to 5-3.
Coast used a pair of walks in the bottom of the ninth inning to bring the winning run to the plate, but SAC reliever Matt Schavone earned his third save of the season after he struck out the final batter of the season for the Dons (29-10-1, 13-8 in the OEC).
After falling behind 3-0 in the top of the second, Coast began to chip away. Emilio Morales led off the second with a single to left and advanced to second two batters later on a check-swing chopper off the bat of Alex Talamante. Jason Carrig came through with a single to center, scoring Morales and bringing the Pirates (17-23, 7-14) closer at 3-1.
Santa Ana, which finished in third place in the OEC this season, picked up single runs in the fourth and fifth innings to make it 5-1. SAC starter Alan Huerta picked up the win, allowing two runs on six hits over 5 2/3 innings.
Matt Maloney took the loss for OCC after six innings of work, allowing five runs on eight hits with six strikeouts. Jackson Ouellette kept the Pirates in the game with three solid innings of relief, holding the Dons off the scoreboard over the final three frames on just two hits.
