Community college baseball: Pirates win eighth straight

COSTA MESA - If there was any doubt the Orange Coast College

baseball team has responded from its gut-check session three weeks ago

further proof came Thursday when the Pirates earned their eighth straight

victory, a 10-5 Orange Empire Conference win over visiting Cypress.

The Pirates (22-1, 7-5 in the OEC) had lost four out of five before

beginning their current streak. A 13-2 loss to visiting Saddleback March

16 resulted in the gut-check time for the Bucs, and they have responded.

Fresh off winning the Sequoias Tournament title March 29, the Pirates

answered a 5-2 deficit with a five-run fifth inning and maintained the

momentum with a commanding pitching performance from sophomore Rob

Williams.

“It all started with the silent practice we had after (losing to)

Saddleback,” OCC Coach John Altobelli said. “I think they’re believing in

the process a little more. I knew it was just going to be a matter of

time.”

Williams came in the fourth and delivered 5 1/3 innings of work to

post his second win of the season. He retired the side in order in the

fifth and sixth, pitched four scoreless innings and finished with three

strikeouts and no walks.

OCC sophomore Scott Beerer started the game, but could not shake the

effects of a sore foot injury.

“He went out there on pure stamina,” Altobelli said of Beerer. “He

didn’t have his good stuff. Most pitchers wouldn’t go out there like

that, but he did it for us. Rob Williams kept us in the game, and our

offense got it done for us.”

Jeremy Lahmann, an OCC sophomore, crushed a 3-2 pitch two-run home run

over the right-center field fence to tie the score in the fifth. Then,

sophomore catcher Ryan Hanson added a two-run base hit, that scored Ryan

Marcos, who singled, and Zack Merideth, who reached on a hit by pitch.

OCC freshman Donny Murphy went 3 for 4 with one RBI and two runs

scored to lead the Pirates’ 12-hit attack, while Hanson finished 2 for 4

with two RBIs.

Coast returns to conference action Saturday at noon, playing at

Cypress.

ORANGE EMPIRE CONFERENCE

Orange Coast 10, Cypress 5

Cypress 110 300 000 - 5 17 0

Orange Coast 200 050 03x - 10 12 0

Keadle, Miller (5), Loopey (8), Zamarano (8) and Hansen; Beerer,

Williams (4), Hedgpeth (9) and Hanson. W - Williams, 2-0. L - Keadle. 2B

- Kungle (C) HR - Fielder (C), Lahmann (OCC).