Tough home opener for Pirates in loss to Warriors

COSTA MESA -- The Orange Coast College baseball team kept El Camino in check for eight innings before the roof caved in as the Pirates fell to to the Warriors, 13-10 in 10 innings on Saturday at John Altobelli Park in Game 2 of the Memorial Cup series.

ECC's come-from-behind win on the heels of Friday's 11-5 victory over the Pirates keeps the Memorial Cup trophy in the hands of the Warriors for the third year in a row.  The Memorial Cup is the annual three-game, season-opening series between Orange Coast and El Camino that honors former OCC head coach John Altobelli, his wife Keri and daughter Alyssa, who lost their lives back on Jan. 26, 2020 in a helicopter crash. It also honors the life of former ECC standout catcher Sladen Mohl, who was killed by a drunk driver on April 18, 2019. This is the fifth year both teams have taken part in the Memorial Cup, with the Warriors earning the big trophy four out of the five years since 2022.

It looked like there was going to be a first-ever, winner-take-all Game 3, with the Pirates ahead of the Warriors, 10-5, with just two outs to go. But El Camino had other plans, scoring a run in the eighth before stunning OCC with four runs in the top of the ninth to force extra innings. There, El Camino took advantage of their extra life and scored three more times before shutting down the Pirates in the bottom of the 10th.

Jake Wood led the Pirates at the plate, going 3-for-5 with three runs and three RBI, all coming from a three-run home run that put Coast up 5-1 after three innings.

El Camino battled back and tied things at 5, before a four-run sixth propelled the Pirates back into the lead. RBI-singles from Lucas Owens and Gibson Rath as well as a two-run triple by Liam Stuppy highlighted OCC's four-run frame and Coast regained its four-run advantage at 9-5. 

Nathan Valencia's RBI-double in the seventh put Coast up. 10-5 and things looked good for the hosts.

ECC's Caden Lewis (2-for-5, one run, five RBI) and Nathan Rivera (2-for-3, one run, four RBI), along with Gil Solis (4-for-7, two runs, three RBI) helped spearhead the Warriors' comeback effort.

Henry Sorman (1-0) pitched a scoreless ninth to earn the win for El Camino before turning it over to Slater Nunez in the 10th for his first save of the season.

The Pirates and Warriors will conclude their three-game series at El Camino College on Tuesday, beginning at 1 p.m. OCC's next home game will be on Thursday against Palomar College, also at 1 p.m.