Pirates take second straight over Tigers

COSTA MESA -- After a heart-pounding, extra-inning, comeback road win for the Orange Coast College softball team against Riverside on Tuesday, the Pirates made things much easier on Thursday at home with a 7-1 win over the Tigers in Game 2 of this week's three-game series.

The Pirate pitching tandem of Georgia Gruber (8-6) and Laura Episom held the Tigers to just one run on five hits with very little drama to deal with. Gruber picked up the win with four solid innings of work before handing the ball over to Episom, who earned her first save of the season with three scoreless, hitless innings to finish things off.

Jaden Fraser led off the game with a walk and three batters later, scored on an RBI-double off the bat of Juliana Brower (2-for-4, one run, one RBI), putting the Pirates (16-15 overall, 10-4 in the Orange Empire Conference) up, 1-0.

Riverside (8-23, 3-11) used an RBI-single by Abigail Baldwin to tie the game at 1 in the top of the third before Coast responded with four runs in the bottom of the third. With two outs and a runner at third, Kelsey McNair walked before Victoria Ruiz (1-2, one run, two RBI) came through with an RBI-single to center, putting OCC back in front. Kayla Vargas (2-for-3, one run, two RBI) drove in McNair from second with an RBI-double to left-center to make it 3-1. After a run-scoring wild pitch put the Pirates up, 4-1, Lauren Trivino capped off the four-run frame with an RBI-single to left, putting Coast up, 5-1.

The Tigers threatened in the top of the fourth with bases loaded and only one out, but Gruber coaxed a force out at home for the second out and a ground out to Trivino at shortstop to end the threat.

Coast tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the fourth off of a bases-loaded walk by Ruiz and a run-scoring ground out by Vargas.

The Tigers and Pirates will wrap up the series finale on Friday at RCC, beginning at 2 p.m. OCC's next home game takes place on Thursday against Saddleback, also at 2 p.m.