Great start fuels Pirates' win over Bobcats
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Saddleback | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
|
Orange Coast | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | X | 5 | 10 | 2 |
COSTA MESA -- On a VERY cold day, a VERY hot start by the Orange Coast College softball team was all the Pirates would need as they pulled out a 5-1 Orange Empire Conference win over visiting Saddleback on Wednesday.
The top of the order was the tops, for the Pirates (2-6, 1-1 in the OEC) as the trio of Emilie Lapena (3-for-3, three runs, two RBI), Natalie Lowthers (3-for-3, one run, one RBI) and Ariana Williams (2-for-3, two RBI) accounted for the majority of the damage.
The OCC pitching helped keep the bats of the Bobcats (6-5, 0-2) as cold as the weather, with Ashlee Kean picking up the win, allowing no runs on two hits with five strikeouts over four innings and Angela Whitmer collecting the save, allowing one run on one hit with four strikeouts over the final three innings.
Lapena, Lowthers and Williams each went double-double-double to put Coast up 2-0 in the bottom of the first after Kean worked her way out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the first.
In the bottom of the second, an RBI-single by Lapena and an RBI-double by Williams extended the Pirates' lead to 4-0.
Lapena capped off her solid day at the plate in the bottom of the fourth when she lined a shot into the jet stream and over the centerfield fence, putting Coast up 5-0.
Saddleback scored its run in the top of the sixth and had runners on second and third with only one out, but the Pirates wiggled their way out of damage as Gianna Gozo saved a pair of runs with a nice one-hop catch on a low throw to end the inning.
Whitmer then retired the side in order in the top of the seventh to preserve the win and snap OCC's five-game losing streak.
The Pirates return to action on Friday (weather permitting) at Golden West College, beginning at 2 p.m. OCC will return home to host Santa Ana on Monday, also at 2 p.m.
