Orange Coast extends win streak

Barry Faulkner

When you haven’t won a conference championship since 1987, it’s hard

to believe destiny is on your side. But the amount of good fortune

befalling the Orange Coast College baseball team during a winning

streak it extended to four games Saturday at Irvine Valley College

might be prompting the Pirates, or at least their fans, to start

suspecting some grand diamond design.

“It’s a scrappy ballclub that finds a way to do it,” OCC Coach

John Altobelli said after the Pirates wound up on the higher side of

the seesaw for the fourth straight game in a 7-4 Orange Empire

Conference victory over the Lasers.

OCC (20-13-1, 11-5-1 in conference), remains within a game of

first-place Santa Ana with four conference games remaining. The

Pirates play last-place Golden West twice next week, before finishing

against Santa Ana (May 3 on the road and May 5 at home). In addition,

a previous tie with Santa Ana is scheduled to be played out May 5.

“These guys like playing together and it’s a lot of fun to be

around,” Altobelli said. “We have two huge games against Golden West,

which would like nothing better than to make its season by beating

us. Hopefully, we can play well enough next week to make the last

week [against Santa Ana] mean something.”

Coming off victories on consecutive walk-off home runs, OCC

greatly diminished the suspense Saturday with timely hitting and

quality pitching.

After an unearned run in the first and a solo homer by freshman

third baseman Gary Gattis in the second put the Pirates on top, IVC

(21-13, 6-11) tied it in the second, then took the lead with two

unearned runs in the third.

But the Pirates’ pitching trio of Kyle Hogue, Daniel Cooper and

Luke Beck shut the door from there and OCC strung together four

singles in the sixth to score three and take the lead for good.

Robbie Blauer, Josh Banda and Beck opened the sixth with singles,

Beck’s producing his second RBI of the game.

Banda then scored to go-ahead run on Stephen Schneider’s groundout

and Steven Lajkowicz plated another run with a two-out single.

Blauer singled in another insurance run in the seventh.

Cooper, a Costa Mesa High product, held IVC scoreless in the

seventh and eighth before Beck, who has not allowed an earned run in

16 1/3 innings this spring, earned his fifth save.

The Lasers loaded the bases with one out on Beck, but he induced a

double-play grounder to second baseman Bobby Slater.

Hogue, who improved to 2-0, struck out four, walked two and

allowed five hits in six innings.

“Hogue stepped up today and Cooper pitched like he has all

season,” Altobelli said.

Beck, who was 4 for 5 in Thursday’s 11-10 win over IVC and 3 for 5

in the Bucs’ 8-7 win in 14 innings over Saddleback Tuesday, was 2 for

5 with two RBIs and one run Saturday.

Blauer finished 2 for 3 and Banda was 2 for 5 to bolster an 11-hit

attack that eight different Pirates contributed to.

“We’re all just looking forward to the next day, which is an

awesome feeling,” said Beck, who played on the OCC team that went

12-21, 6-15 in conference in 2004. “Last year at this time, it was a

burden to come to the ballpark every day.”

Gattis’ homer was his fourth of the season.

Orange Empire Conference

Orange Coast 7,

Irvine Valley 4

Score by Innings

*--*

OCC 1 1 0 1 0 3 1 0 0 - 7 11 2

IVC 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 4 8 1

*--*

Hogue, Cooper (7), Beck (9) and Banda; McMaster, Harrell (7),

Forcone (8) and Mier. W -- Hogue,2-0. L -- McMaster, 3-2. Sv -- Beck

(5). 2B -- Gutierrez (IVC), Beck (IVC). HR -- Gattis (OCC).