Late Pirate rally falls short in 5-2 loss to Tigers
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Riverside | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 0 |
|
Orange Coast | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 |
COSTA MESA -- The Orange Coast College baseball team had all the ingredients for another late-inning comeback, but this time, the Pirates couldn't get the big hit late as they fell to visiting Riverside City College, 5-2, on Thursday at John Altobelli Ballpark.
Just two days after the Pirates rallied with three runs in the ninth inning to top the Tigers 5-4 at RCC, Coast once again set the stage for another final-inning upset win. Trailing 5-2, Coast used walks by Kael Corridan and Zach Boynton along with a single to center by Tyler Arevalos to load the bases with nobody out, putting the tying run on base and the winning run at the plate.
But RCC reliever Evan Stratton came in and retired the next three OCC batters with a line out, a strikeout and a foul pop out, leaving the bases full for the Pirates.
Riverside starter Jorge Rodriguez picked up the win after holding Coast to just one run on four hits with seven strikeouts over seven innings. Trailing 4-1 in the eighth, Luke Flinn greeted relief pitcher Julian Herrera with a solo home run to left, cutting the deficit to 4-2. But, the Tigers responded with a leadoff triple and sacrifice fly to get that run back, putting the lead back up to three at 5-2.
Andrew Chorbagian went 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles and a triple with a run scored for OCC, while Flinn added two hits, a run and an RBI.
Reliever Alex Gelb pitched three strong innings of relief for Coast, holding the Tigers scoreless over that span with a walk and a strikeout.
Game 3 of this week's series takes place on Friday at Riverside City College, beginning at 1 p.m. OCC's next home game will be on Tuesday against Cypress, beginning at 2 p.m.
