Yuhl goes the distance as Pirates double-up Chargers, 4-2

CYPRESS -- The wins continue to pile up for sophomore right-hander Keegan Yuhl and the Orange Coast College baseball team as the Pirates rallied late to top the Cypress Chargers, 4-2 on Tuesday at Cypress College.
 
Yuhl, a sophomore transfer from San Diego City College, notched his state-best seventh win of the season (7-0) to lead the top-ranked Pirates (20-2-1, 7-1 in Orange Empire Conference). This season, Yuhl has allowed just seven earned runs over 48 2/3 innings (1.27 ERA) with a team-best 37 strikeouts.
 
On Tuesday, Yuhl threw a complete game an allowed two runs on nine hits with no walks and eight strikeouts.
 
Trailing 1-0 through five innings, the Pirates finally found some success against Charger righty Daniel Poncedelon (2-1). In the sixth, Joel Licon led off with a single and went to second on an infield single off the bat of Chris Carlson. Stefan Sabol moved both runners up with a sacrifice bunt and Bijan Rademacher tied the game up with a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Licon.
 
In the seventh, a single by Justin Broussard, a hit-by-pitch by Trent Woodward and an infield single by Boog Powell loaded the bases with one out. Licon stepped up and put the Pirates ahead for good with a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Broussard for a 2-1 OCC lead.
 
The lead grew to 3-1 in the top of the eighth when Carlson led off with a triple to deep center field and scored on an RBI-single to left by Sabol.
 
Cypress cut the deficit to 3-2 in the bottom of the eighth before OCC tacked on an insurance run in the ninth when Boog Powell singled up the middle, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on an RBI-single by Licon, who finished the day with two hits, a run and two RBI. Powell and Carlson each had two hits and a run scored to highlight the 11-hit attack of the Pirates.
 
From there, Yuhl retired the side in order in the bottom of the ninth to preserve the win.