Orange Coast College

Baseball: Three-run eighth lifts Pirates past Rustlers, 4-1

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

COSTA MESA -- After nearly squandering away a bases-loaded, nobody out opportunity in the bottom of the eighth, the Orange Coast College baseball team took advantage of a costly Golden West error and pulled out a 4-1 win over the visiting Rustlers on Tuesday.

The Pirates (21-7, 5-1 in Orange Empire Conference) started the eighth with a Drew Hillman single, a Jourdan Watanabe hit-by-pitch and a well-placed bunt by Brett Wallach, loading the bases with nobody out. However, the next two OCC batters hit infield grounders that each turned into force outs at the plate. Finally, Ryan Sheeks hit a topspin grounder to third that slipped past GWC third baseman Ryan Bustillos for an error, allowing all three Coast baserunners to score, breaking the 1-1 tie. It was the fourth GWC error of the game.

The three-run lead was more than enough for sophomore lefty Brandon Dixon, who tossed his second straight complete game to improve to 6-1 overall. He allowed one run on six hits, walking just one, while striking out nine.

After allowing a run in the top of the first, Dixon got of a second-inning jam. Following that, it was relatively smooth sailing the rest of the way. GWC (15-13, 0-6) had a leadoff double in the top of the sixth, but Dixon kept him from scoring by retiring the next three batters he faced.

In the top of the ninth, the Rustlers led off with a single, but Dixon coaxed the next batter into a 6-4-3 double play, then struck out the next batter to end the game.

Chris Fung, Drew Hillman, Jourdan Watanabe and Ryan Dunn each had two hits for the Pirates.

OCC returns to action on Thursday at home against Irvine Valley, beginning at 2:30 p.m.