Spivey goes eight strong innings to lead Coast past Tigers, 13-3

COSTA MESA -- The bats of the Orange Coast College baseball team put up impressive numbers on Saturday, but the performance of Sawyer Spivey topped the list as the Pirates earned a 13-3 Orange Empire Conference win over Riverside City College on Friday at John Altobelli Park.

With some banged-up starters, the Pirates (11-15, 6-3 in the OEC) turned to Spivey for a start on the mound and the sophomore righty made the absolute most of his opportunity, holding the Tigers (18-9, 4-5) to just three runs (two earned) over eight innings. He gave up eight hits over that span with just two walks and a pair of strikeouts, keeping the RCC bats off-balanced all afternoon.

Owen Wessel joined Spivey in the "WOW" category, going 5-for-5 with four runs scored and an RBI for Coast. Zach Leite went 3-for-5 with a run and three RBI and Sebastian Moore added three hits, reached base five times, scored a run and drove in three.

A turning point in the game came in the top of the second, when the Tigers scored three times and had runners on second and third with just one out. Spivey coaxed the next batter into an infield fly ball for the second out before Dylan Krause ranged far to his left for a diving stop of a potential two-run single, throwing the runner out at first to end the threat and hold things to just a 3-1 RCC advantage.

Coast carried that momentum the rest of the way and grabbed a 4-3 lead in the third, thanks to an RBI-single by Leite and a two-run single to left by Moore.

With it still a one-run game in the bottom of the sixth, the Pirate bats came alive as six straight batters earned hits and sparked a five-run frame to blow the game open. A two-run double by Ethan Brand was followed with an RBI-single by J.T. Crabbe, an RBI-double by Leite and a run-scoring single by Moore, putting Coast up, 9-3.

But the story of the afternoon was Spivey, who settled down after his rocky second inning and held the Tigers off the scoreboard the rest of the way, retiring 11 of the final 13 batters he faced. Parker King came in for some late-inning work and wrapped the game up with a scoreless ninth.

Coast will return to action on Tuesday at College of the Desert, beginning at 2 p.m. The Pirates and Roadrunners will play again on Thursday at OCC, also at 2 p.m.