Orange Coast College

Baseball: Drummond, Pirates clobber Santa Ana, 9-1

Thursday, March 05, 2009

COSTA MESA -- With nine-or-more runs scored in 11 of 18 games played, the Santa Ana College baseball team has inflated a lot of pitchers' numbers so far this season.

On Thursday, OCC's Calvin Drummond (pictured left) managed to exact some revenge on behalf of the hurlers as he pitched eight strong innings to lead the Pirates past the Dons, 9-1, at Wendell Pickens Field.

Drummond (3-2) held the Dons hitless for five innings and allowed just two hits in the game. The sophomore righty allowed one unearned run with one walk and four strikeouts in his 101-pitch performance.

With Drummond shutting down the Dons, the OCC offense managed to rough off a SAC pitching staff that came into Thursday's game with a 2.63 team ERA.

Ryan Dunn went 2-for-3 with a home run, one run scored and three RBI to lead the Pirates (11-7, 2-2 in Orange Empire Conference), while D.J. Arellano added two hits and an RBI. Brett Wallach and Scott Stidham each provided RBI hits, while Ryan Sheeks and Mykal Stokes each added a hit and two runs scored.

The Pirates jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second when Scott Hong tripled to center and scored on an RBI groundout by Dunn.

With runners on first and third with one out, Brett Wallach gave Coast a 3-0 lead on an RBI single to left, scoring Ryan Sheeks and Mykal Stokes, who advanced to third on the play and scored on a throwing error by the SAC leftfielder.

Dunn came through in the fourth with a solo home run to left (pictured right) -- his first of the season -- making it 4-0 and ending the day for Dons' starter Nick Capito (4-1).

Santa Ana (13-6, 2-2) got on the scoreboard in the top of the fifth without the benefit of a hit. James Davis reached on an error, advanced to second on a hit batsman, advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Stephen Gonzalez and scored on a sacrifice fly by Efrain Mendoza.

But the Pirates would break the game open in the fifth, batting through the entire order and scoring four runs. RBI hits from Dunn, Arellano and Stidham highlighted the frame.

OCC would add one more run in the eighth when Sheeks walked, stole second, advanced to third on a passed ball and scored on a wild pitch.

Coast returns to action on Saturday at Irvine Valley, beginning at noon.

NOTE -- Sunday's memorial service at Orange Coast College for the late Jourdan Watanabe has been changed to 3:30 p.m. at Wendell Pickens Field.