Pirates’ Olson signs on to continue at UC Irvine

Orange Coast College sophomore center fielder Cory Olson has signed a letter of intent to continue his baseball career at UC Irvine, OCC Coach John Altobelli announced.

Olson, a first-team All-Orange Empire Conference performer as a freshman, was hitting .352 for the Pirates through Wednesday.

Entering Thursday’s game against Saddleback, he had started all 37 games for the Pirates (26-10-1). He led the team in hits (50), home runs (seven), runs (38), stolen bases (14 in 14 attempts), extra-base hits (18) slugging percentage (.606) and on-base percentage (.478). He was tied for the team lead in runs batted in with 34.

Olson, a 5-foot-11, 180-pound right-hander, hit .381 last season with four homers and 32 RBIs.

He came to Orange Coast from Orange Lutheran High.

— From staff reports