Baseball: Pirates one win away

FRESNO — For nearly a full calendar year, the only defense against Orange Coast College pitching at the California Community College Athletic Assn. state baseball tournament has been a technicality.

Pirates’ pitchers extended their scoreless innings streak in state tournament games to 25 on Sunday by blanking Palomar, 3-0, to advance into Monday’s championship round at Fresno City College.

OCC, the No. 10 seed from the Southern California region, which finished third in the Orange Empire Conference and lost six of its last eight regular-season games this season, is one win away from earning back-to-back state crowns.

The Pirates (29-17), who are now 17-2 in the postseason the last two years, will face either San Joaquin Delta, the No. 1 seed from the North (which it blanked, 5-0, in the opening round on Saturday), or Palomar, the No. 1 seed from the South. Delta and Palomar entered the elimination game Sunday evening with a combined record of 77-13.

OCC, which last allowed a run in the second inning of last year’s title-clinching victory against Delta in Fresno, would have to lose twice Monday to miss a chance at what would be the program’s sixth state title, its third in seven years. The first game Monday is at 11 a.m. The second game, if necessary, would follow 45 minutes after the conclusion of the first game.

Sophomore starter Art Vidrio and freshman reliever Jack Pabich combined to add to OCC’s zero tolerance. It was the second time in two games that OCC shut out a team that had not been blanked this season.

Vidrio, who earned the win to improve to 9-3 this season and now has 17 wins for his OCC career to tie for No. 5 on the all-time list, was forced to leave the game due to an obscure rule about coaches’ visits to the mound.

With two outs and the bases loaded in the sixth inning, OCC pitching coach Ron La Ruffa paid Vidrio a visit on the mound. Upon walking off the mound after apparently completing the discussion, La Ruffa, hoping to add another thought, reversed direction and headed back to the mound. The “second visit,” by rule, forced the removal of Vidrio, the 2014 state tournament MVP who had allowed four hits and struck out six to that point. Pulling Vidrio was clearly not the OCC coaches’ wishes.

But Pabich, without any more than the allotted eight warm-up pitches, induced a foul-out to leave three Comets runners holding the bag. Pabich, filling in for sophomore reliever Scott Serigstad, who missed the game to attend his sister’s wedding, finished out the next three innings to record his fourth save.

“I got the call really fast, but it doesn’t take me long to warm up, which was good,” Pabich said. “But I was ready to go. I was fired up. We had that game on lock. It’s my job to go out there and finish it and I did.”

OCC Coach John Altobelli admitted the move to Pabich in the sixth was not planned.

“We screwed up as coaches on that pitching change,” Altobelli said. “I didn’t even know that rule and La Ruffa didn’t know that rule. That’s one of those things you never hear or see. But once you are done [talking] and you leave the dirt [on the mound], you are supposed to keep walking.

“But Jack came in, and what a bulldog performance by him,” Altobelli said. “And [Vidrio, now 6-2 in postseason games the last two years] did a great job.”

OCC sophomore second baseman Chaneng Varela doubled to plate sophomore Robert Longtree with the only run the designated home team would need in the third inning.

Longtree walked to open the inning and advanced on a sacrifice bunt by sophomore shortstop Jeff Nellis.

Varela singled and later scored on a sacrifice fly by sophomore designated hitter Stephen Corona in the fifth. Freshman first baseman J.T. McLellan then capped the two-run rally with a two-out RBI single against Palomar starter Jake Barnett, who had allowed five earned runs in 25 innings over his three previous postseason starts (a 1.80 earned-run average).

Barnett (9-3 with the loss) had won two of those starts for the Comets, who entered Sunday without a loss in seven postseason games this season.

Varela was two for four to pace OCC’s seven-hit attack that also included singles from sophomore right fielder Tommy Bell, sophomore catcher Jack Kruger, freshman left fielder Stefan Panayiotou and freshman third baseman Nick Grimes.

OCC’s dominant pitching, including a complete-game seven-hitter by sophomore Dominic Purpura on Saturday, has allowed just three opposing runners to reach third base in two state tournament games, including just one Sunday.

“Wow, that’s awesome,” Altobelli said of the 25 straight scoreless innings in Fresno. “Guys are obviously stepping up at the right time. We need one more big day [Monday].”

Corona, behind whom OCC is 3-0 in playoff series-clinching wins the previous three weeks, including two Corona wins, one no-decision and just two earned runs allowed in 14 2/3 innings (a 1.23 ERA), will start Monday’s first game.

Varela said the OCC’s unexpected run is no surprise to the Pirates’ players.

“We’re the best team in the state, we think,” Varela said. “Everyone has come together. Nobody expects us to come out here and hit like that or pitch like that, especially, here. It’s the best. It’s fun.”

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State Championship tournament

Winner’s bracket semifinal

Orange Coast 3, Palomar 0

SCORE BY INNINGS

Pal 000 000 000 – 0 7 0

OCC 001 020 00x – 3 7 0

Barnett, Huber (8) and Christy; Vidrio, Pabich (6) and Kruger. W – Vidrio, 9-3. L – Barnett, 9-3. Sv – Pabich (4). 2B – Varela (OCC).