Pirates outduel Rustlers in 1-0 pitcher's duel
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Golden West | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
|
Orange Coast | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | X | 1 | 3 | 0 |
COSTA MESA -- Unlike their baseball counterparts, the Orange Coast College softball team picked up a victory through stellar pitching as the Pirates shut down rival Golden West, 1-0, on Friday at the OCC Softball Complex.
The Pirates' pitching duo of Ashlee Kean (4-3) and Ashley Hester (first save) silenced the Rustlers to the tune of no runs on just two hits. Kean pitched the first 5 1/3 innings and walked one, gave up one hit and struck out 10. Hester kept GWC at bay the rest of the way, allowing one hit, no walks and one strikeout over the final 1 2/3 innings.
Coast's lone run came in the bottom of the fifth inning when Amaya White (2-for-3) led off with a single through the right side. She advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Nadia Perez, before taking third on a fly out by Gillian Gordan. Two batters later, White scored on an RBI-single by Gianna Gozo, which proved to be the only run of the game. The win improved the Pirates' record to 7-4 overall, 1-1 in the Orange Empire Conference).
For the Rustlers (2-5, 0-3 in OEC), their best chance to score came in the top of the second when Sevin Birdwell led off with a hit-by-pitch and stole second with nobody out. But Kean stepped up and struck out the next three batters to leave Birdwell stranded at second.
Coast will play at Saddleback on Monday in a makeup game, beginning at 1:30 p.m. before playing at Santiago Canyon on Wednesday (3 p.m.) and at home against Fullerton on Friday (2 p.m.).
