Pirates lose on miscue

The Orange Coast College baseball team’s recent run of good fortune

flamed out in a momentary mental lapse Saturday night. Pirates’

closer Luke Beck balked in the winning run in the ninth inning to

give host Fresno City a 6-5 triumph in the first round of the

four-team state championship tournament.

Most of the overflow crowd estimated at 850 went home happy as the

host Rams (35-6) erased a pair of Pirate leads to drop OCC (29-17)

into the loser’s bracket.

OCC, needing four straight wins over the next two days to win its

fourth state title, its first since 1980, will play Santa Rosa

(29-14) today at 10 a.m.

If victorious this morning, the Pirates would play the loser of

today’s 2 p.m. winner’s bracket final between Fresno and Palomar

tonight at approximately 6 p.m.

While OCC freshman pitcher Kyle Hogue was working on a no-hitter

through five innings, the visitors opened strongly with the bats.

Sophomore shortstop Matt Cline led off the game with a triple and

scored on a groundout by sophomore first baseman Robbie Blauer.

Beck, the Orange Empire Conference Co-MVP, belted a solo home run

over the 400-foot mark in center field to make it 2-0 and the Bucs

added an unearned run in the third off Fresno starter Andy Underwood.

Kyle Gerhart led off the Fresno sixth with a bunt single and,

after a sacrifice bunt, Ricky Bambino’s single put runners on the

corners.

After a walk loaded the bases, a pair of RBI singles and a passed

ball allowed Fresno to pull even.

OCC scored twice in the seventh. Stephen Cope, who led off the

inning with a single, scored on a two-base throwing error and Blauer

drove in another run with a single.

After Fresno pulled to within 5-4 in the eighth, Beck started the

ninth in pursuit of his 10th save.

After a leadoff walk and an infield single, a sacrifice bunt put

runners at second and third.

A passed ball produced one run and a walk put runners at the

corners. The runner at first took second without a play on the first

pitch. Beck then mistakenly wheeled to first for a would-be pickoff

that was an automatic balk call, plating the winning run.

Stephen Schneider was 3 for 4 to pace OCC’s 10-hit attack.