Pirates move to super regionals

The Orange Coast College baseball team defeated visiting San

Bernardino Valley, 7-4, Sunday in the deciding game of a three-game

Southern California regional playoffs series.

With the victory, Coach John Altobelli’s No. 4-seeded Pirates

(26-15), advance to host one of two four-team, double-elimination

super regionals scheduled Friday through Sunday.

OCC will open Friday against Irvine Valley, while Santa Ana will

square off against either Cypress or Mt. San Antonio in the other

opening game.

After topping the No. 13-seeded Wolverines, 7-4, in the first game

Saturday, OCC dropped a 10-3 decision that evened the series Sunday.

The Pirates, who squandered a 3-0 lead in Sunday’s first game,

rallied twice in the second game, then relied on strong relief

pitching from freshman Mark Haderlein and sophomore Luke Beck.

Haderlein, who worked two perfect innings to earn his first save

Saturday, allowed two hits in 2 1/3 scoreless innings in Sunday’s

clincher, after taking over for starter John Sternberg.

OCC scored twice in the fourth to erase a 1-0 deficit, then, after

San Bernardino went ahead with two in the fifth, scored three of its

own to claim a 5-3 advantage.

OCC extended the lead to 7-3 and Beck earned his eighth save,

despite giving up his first earned run of the season (spanning 22 2/3

innings), a leadoff homer in the ninth, in his two innings.

“Our [relievers] have done a great job all year for us,” said

Altobelli, whose team lost a best-of-three series to eventual state

champion Riverside in the 2002 super regionals. “They kept us in the

game and where we needed to be and then we were able to bring in Beck

to shut the door.”

OCC sophomore shortstop Matt Cline went 3 for 4 in the clincher

and was 7 for 8 in the Pirates’ two series wins.

Ryan Harris slugged a two-out homer to break a scoreless tie in

the third, but Cline later said Harris’ prolonged trot around the

bases angered the Pirates.

“I felt like the team was a little flat to start, but after they

showed us up, that got us fired up,” said Cline, a two-time

All-Orange Empire Conference performer who was perfect on 18

defensive chances in the series.

Josh Banda’s two-run homer in the fourth, his eighth of the

season, put OCC ahead, momentarily.

Trailing, 3-2 in the fifth, Stephen Cope started the Pirates’

rally with a walk. Cline followed with a bunt single and Robbie

Blauer then attempted to move them along with a sacrifice bunt. But

third baseman Harris threw the ball wildly to first to allow Cope to

score and tie the game.

After Beck, the Orange Empire Conference Co-Player of the Year,

was walked to load the bases, Richard Boutwell was brought in to

pitch for the Wolverines.

Boutwell, however, walked Stephen Schneider to put the Pirates,

who earned a share of their first conference crown since 1987 this

spring, ahead for good.

Blauer scored on a wild pitch to cap the three-run uprising and

OCC added a pair of unearned runs, courtesy of another Harris

throwing error, in the seventh. Three Wolverine errors led to three

unearned runs to bolster an OCC attack that managed just seven hits.

Beck was 2 for 4 with an RBI in Sunday’s first game, in which

Banda and freshman third baseman Gary Gattis also drove in runs for

the Pirates, who were the designated visitors.

Southern California

regionals

Game 3

Orange Coast 7,

San Bernardino Valley 4

Score by Innings

*--*

SBV 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 1 - 4 8 4

OCC 0 0 0 2 3 0 0 2 x - 7 7 3

*--*

Gonzales, Boutwell (5), Avila (7) and Gonzalez; Sternberg,

Haderlein (5), Beck (8) and Banda. W -- Haderlein, 3-0. L --

Gonzales, 3-1. Sv -- Beck (8). 2B -- Cline (OCC), Schneider (OCC). HR

-- Harris (SBV), Owens (SBV), Banda (OCC).

Game 2

San Bernardino Valley 10,

Orange Coast 3

Score by Innings

*--*

OCC 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 - 3 7 1

SBV 0 0 0 0 4 0 1 5 x - 10 15 2

*--*

Clear, Cooper (5), Busby (8) and Banda, Schmidt (8); Gomez and F.

Gonzalez. W -- Gomez, 8-6. L -- Cooper, 7-3. Beck (OCC), Schneider

(OCC), Klug (SBV), Harris (SBV), Owens (SBV).