Pirates rebound with shutout win over Vaqueros

COSTA MESA -- What a difference 24 hours (and 24 runs) makes for the Orange Coast College baseball team. Just one day removed from a 24-8 loss to Glendale, the Pirates bounced back and notched a 9-0 shutout win over the same Vaqueros ball club on Friday at John Altobelli Park.

It was a roller-coaster week of baseball for the OCC pitching staff. Following an impressive 2-1 win against Glendale on Tuesday, the Vaqueros (15-9-1) scored 13 runs in the first two innings against the Pirates (13-11) on Thursday en route to the blowout win. On Friday, Coast rolled up and played one of their best games of this season and in recent seasons past, holding Glendale to just four hits and earning a shutout win for the first time since blanking Modesto, 3-0, on March 18, 2025. 

The pitching trio of Jacob Alvarez (1-1), Landon Veirs and Geon Beck were masterful against a Vaquero offense that earned 24 runs, 19 hits, 11 walks and six OCC errors just one day prior. Friday's combined pitching line: 9 IP, 0R, 4H, 4BB, 10K. 

Alvarez set the tone with five strong frames to start the game, holding the Vaqueros to no runs on three hits with five strikeouts. Veirs threw three scoreless innings on one hit, no walks and four Ks before Baek tossed a scoreless, hitless ninth with one strikeouts.

Damian Felix got OCC on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first with an RBI-single to center, which scored Andrew Chorbagian on the play.

With runners on first and third with one out, Kael Corridan played some "small ball" and turned a safety squeeze opportunity into a perfectly-placed, RBI-bunt single to make it 2-0. Jake Wood followed with a run-scoring single before Nathan Valencia capped off the three-run frame with a sacrifice fly to center field, putting the Pirates up, 4-0.

The back-breaker for the Vaqueros came in the bottom of the fourth inning. Relief pitcher Tristan Purfoy came into the game and promptly walked the bases loaded. With two outs, Wood came through the big hit of the game, launching a drive off of the left-field fence which scored all three runs and put OCC up, 7-0. Wood finished the game 3-for-5 with four RBI to pace the OCC offense.

Chorbagian came through with an RBI-double down the left-field line in the seventh to plate OCC's eighth run of the game. After stealing home and a Zach Boynton walk. The Pirate duo pulled off a double-steal to bring in Chorbagian and to cap off the scoring at 9-0.

The Pirates will return to action on Tuesday as they get back into Orange Empire Conference play with a three-game set against Irvine Valley. Game one will be at IVC before the two teams play at John Altobelli Park on Thursday. Both games are set to begin at 2 p.m.