Orange Coast Advances To The State Championship Game
By John Van Gaston, Sports Information
Game 4 – May 25, 2014 – John Euless Ballpark - 2:10 p.m.
#1S Orange Coast "Pirates" (35-9) def. #1N San Joaquin Delta "Mustangs" (34-10), 4-1
FRESNO – With only two innings under his belt in the last month, starting pitcher Jacob Hill provided Orange Coast College with eight innings of work, leading his team to a 4-1 win over San Joaquin Delta in the California Community College Athletic Association championship semifinal game at John Euless Ballpark. The win sends the Pirates (35-9) to the championship game on Monday at 11 a.m., and will need only one win to secure the title. They won their fourth state title in school history in 2009 – against San Joaquin Delta - with championships also in 1980, 1960 and 1956.
The Mustangs opened the scoring in the top of the third inning against Hill (11-0) when Andrew Urbistado was hit by a pitch to lead off the stanza. After a sacrifice and a walk to Connor Torres, Wyatt Castro singled home Urbistado with what turned out to be the lone run for Delta, which only collected three hits against Hill and drew five walks. Spencer Moran came on in the ninth inning and earned his fifth save of the year.
Offensively, the Pirates responded in the bottom of the third inning with a pair of runs. In recording the final defensive out of the third inning, Chris Iriart was slightly injured in a collision with CJ Owens. But with Cody Nulph on second base, Iriart blasted a 0-1 pitch from losing pitcher Sean Bennetts (9-3) for his 10th home run of the season. Prior to the home run, L. Grant Davis was thrown out at the plate trying to score on the double by Nulph.
Orange Coast added solo runs in the fourth and sixth inning to give Hill some insurance. Jake Thumm reached on a throwing error, allowing Daniel Delaney to score, while two innings later, Delaney was driven in on a base hit by Robert Longtree.
The win was the 14th in a row for the Pirates, dating back to Orange Empire Conference play, while Nulph extended his hitting streak to 29 games with three hits on the day.