Pirates push Bobcats to brink, but come up short in Regional Playoff

MISSION VIEJO -- The Orange Coast College baseball team nearly pulled off the upset of the year on Saturday after beating host Saddleback 9-8 on a walkoff, wild pitch in the 10th inning. But in the end, the walkoff giveth and in this case, the walkoff taketh away as the Bobcats returned the favor on the Pirates in the series finale, 7-6, to end OCC's 2024 season.

After dropping the series opener on Friday, 2-0, the 20th-seeded Pirates (17-26) had their backs to the wall against the No. 4-seeded Bobcats (26-16), but Game 2 saw Coast rally from an early deficit to grab a 6-4 lead on Saddleback after five innings, only to see the "visiting" Bobcats (designated visiting team for Game 2) a 7-6 lead in the top of the ninth, leaving Coast just three outs away from elimination.

But Coast fought back. Zach Leite began the rally with a hit-by-pitch. Pinch-runner Chris Ouelette made it to third on a single by J.T. Crabbe and he scored the tying run, courtesy of an RBI-single off the bat of pinch-hitter Devin Rogers. Saddleback avoided further damage and the game went extras. 

After Saddleback regained an 8-7 lead in the top of the 10th, the Bobcat pitching staff was their own worst enemy as they loaded the bases with three walks. Dylan Krause then scampered home from third, courtesy of a wild pitch and after a strikeout and intentional walk to re-load the bases, Owen Wessel ended the game when HE scored on a wild pitch, stunning the Bobcats and sending the series into a winner-take-all Game 3, under the lights, at Saddleback College.

Coast trailed 4-2 after six innings, but managed to stay in the neighborhood of the Bobcats thanks to inspired pitching from closer Jackson Gilles, who came into the game in the bottom of the SECOND inning and held Saddleback off the scoreboard for 2 2/3 innings, allowing no hits, a pair of walks and a strikeout. 

In the top of the seventh, the Pirates again showed life and used a two-run double by Leite and a two-run home run from Crabbe to grab a 6-4 advantage.

Reliever Chanhui Lee had four strikeouts after Gilles' work, but in the bottom of the seventh, Saddleback got to him a big and before the frame was over, the game was tied at 6.

Coast had a chance in the ninth to regain the lead, but couldn't get that big two-out hit, and in the bottom of the ninth, two walks and two singles by the Bobcats gave Saddleback the walkoff win as they survived a crazy three-game series with the underdog Pirates.