Pirates survive late to top Falcons in eight innings
| Final (8) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Orange Coast | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 10 | 2 |
|
Cerritos | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 3 |
NORWALK -- Another day, another solid road win against one of the top teams in the state as the Orange Coast College softball team survived a late Cerritos College rally and topped the Falcons in eight innings, 7-6, on Saturday afternoon.
In spite of losing a four-run lead in the seventh inning to the 11th-ranked Falcons (27-10), the fourth-ranked Pirates (28-6) regained the lead in the eighth, then held on for dear life as Cerritos loaded the bases in the final inning, but could not find the equalizer.
Things ran smooth for Coast through six-and-a-half innings as a three-run seventh pushed the Pirates ahead 6-2. But the Falcons took advantage of four walks, a hit batter and a clutch 2-run single off the bat of Marley Cortez tied the game at 6.
In the top of the eighth, a one-out single by Victoria Ruiz started OCC's regroup. After a sacrifice bunt be McKenzie Koshi moved Soto into scoring position, Kelsey McNair helped her own cause with a single through the right side, scoring Ruiz and putting the Pirates back in front, 7-6.
McNair, (4-0) who gave up the tying runs in the seventh, went back to the circle and retired the first two batters of the inning before a single and a pair of walks loaded the bases for the Falcons. Finally, McNair got her final Cerritos batter to strike out, ending the drama and giving the Pirates their 14th win of the season against ranked opponents.
Olivia Pedraza and Isabel Lopez each had two hits, a run scored and an RBI for OCC, while Kimora Tuipala added a hit and two RBI. McNair contributed a hit, two runs and an RBI from the top of the batting order as well.
Coast will wrap up the regular season at home on Thursday against top-ranked Long Beach City College, beginning at 2:30 p.m.
