Pirates take series with big win over Hawks
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Santiago Canyon | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 3 |
|
Orange Coast | 3 | 0 | 6 | 6 | X | 15 | 12 | 4 |
COSTA MESA -- After a frustrating late-inning loss on Thursday, the Orange Coast College softball team quickly erased the memory from their collective brains by routing Santiago Canyon, 15-4, in five innings on Friday at the OCC Softball Stadium.
Jaden Fraser went 2-for-2 with three runs scored and four RBI from the top of the batting order for the Pirates (12-12, 6-3 in the Orange Empire Conference), while Kelsey McNair capped off the second of two six-run innings with a pinch-hit, two-run home run. In all, Coast pounded out 12 hits and took advantage of seven SCC walks and three SCC errors along the way.
Pitcher Georgia Gruber (6-6) picked up the win, pitching all five innings and holding the Hawks (11-17, 3-6) to four runs (two earned) on seven hits with a walk and a strikeout.
After a pair of OCC errors helped the Hawks score a first-inning run, OCC quickly took the game over in the bottom of the first, courtesy of a two-run double by Kimora Tuipala and an RBI-single by Victoria Ruiz, putting Coast up, 3-1.
It stayed that way until the bottom of the third, when four walks led to OCC's fourth run of the game before a three-run triple off the bat of Fraser and RBI-singles by Marissa Sardinas and Madison Gregory capped off the the first six-run frame to put the Pirates up, 9-1.
The Pirates will next kick off a crucial three-game series with Golden West College, beginning on Tuesday at GWC at 2 p.m. The Rustlers will then head to OCC on Thursday at 2 p.m. for game 2 of the series, with the finale back at Golden West on Friday at 2 p.m.
