Baseball: OCC baseball family suffers loss

GLAMIS - Former Orange Coast College pitcher Matt O’Brien, who

helped the Pirates into postseason play last spring, died Tuesday

afternoon from injuries sustained in an all-terrain vehicle accident. He

was 21.

O’Brien, who was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash, was racing

a motorcycle when he hit a bump, lost control and crashed his vehicle,

according to a family friend.

O’Brien was spending some time at the sand dunes in this small town

east of Brawley and 20 miles north of the Mexican border.

Funeral services will be Monday at noon at the Forest Lawn Cemetery in

Cypress. A viewing will take place on Sunday.

O’Brien was 3-1 with a 5.54 earned run average for the Pirates last

season. He walked only four while striking out 17 in 26 innings of work

in relief.

He was 1-0 in limited work out of the bullpen for the Pirates as a

freshman.

Before attending Orange Coast, O’Brien was a two-year varsity player

at Pacifica High in Garden Grove. In his junior season, O’Brien compiled

a 0.26 ERA for the Mariners.

O’Brien transferred to Chapman University and made the Panthers’

pitching staff before his accident.

O’Brien is survived by his parents, Jim and Marna.