Pirates contain Hornets in OEC opener

COSTA MESA -- It was the perfect start to Orange Empire Conference play for the Orange Coast College College softball team as the Pirates topped visiting Fullerton College, 6-2, on Tuesday, at the OCC Softball Stadium.

The key Pirate players did their job throughout the afternoon. Pitcher Daniella Sanchez picked up her first win of the season, holding the Hornets (8-3, 0-1 in the OEC) to two runs on six hits over 6 1/3 innings with no walks and three strikeouts. After getting into some trouble in the seventh, closer Kelsey McNair picked up her first save of the year by striking out the two batters she faced. 

The top of the batting order for the Pirates (4-6, 1-0) -- McNair and Jaden Fraser -- did their jobs by getting on base ... a lot. McNair went 2-for-4 with a run scored, while Fraser added three hits and two runs scored from the No. 2 spot, improving her season batting average to .500 (15-for-30). 

It was a scoreless contest through the first two innings before Coast pulled ahead in the third.  Back-to-back singles by McNair and Fraser and a walk by Maiah Rodriguez loaded the bases with nobody out. Kimora Tuipala came through in the cleanup spot of the order and drove in two runs with a double to right-center. An RBI-ground out by Kayla Vargas and a run-scoring single by Marissa Sardinas capped off OCC's big third inning and gave the Pirates a 4-0 advantage.

FC's Lisa Villanueva hit a solo home run in the top of the fourth to trip the Pirate advantage to 4-1 before Coast responded with a pair of runs in the fifth to make it 6-1. Coast took advantage of a pair of Hornet errors and used a hit by Fraser and an RBI fielder's choice by Sardinas to pad the OCC lead.

Things got a bit dicey for the Pirates in the top of the seventh as Fullerton's first three batters reached base, including a run-scoring single by Madison Boehm, putting runners on first and third. Coast managed to get the first out of the inning when Lauren Trivino threw home to nab a Hornet runner trying to score from third.

From there, McNair came into the circle and promptly went strikeout-strikeout to end the game, giving Coast the series opener.

Game 2 of this three-game set takes place on Thursday at Fullerton College (2 p.m.) with the series finale back at OCC on Friday (2 p.m.).