Pirates hold off Vikings

COSTA MESA — Though the victory went to another pitcher who let the first lead slip away, those who witnessed Orange Coast College’s 5-3 nonconference baseball win over visiting Long Beach Thursday would recognize that the impact on the game made by the Pirates’ mound starter was Cerda-fiable.

Steven Cerda, a freshman left-hander making his collegiate debut after sitting out last season, pitched six shutout innings to help the defending state champions prevail and improve to 2-0.

But Cerda, who allowed four hits, walked none and struck out three, was denied the victory when the Vikings (0-3) scored two runs in the seventh to tie the score against reliever Blake Arthur.

OCC then picked Arthur and Cerda up by scoring twice in the seventh and once in the eighth.

After Andy Abrams, who pitched a scoreless eighth inning, wavered in the ninth, freshman Ryan Doran was summoned to record the final out to post his first save.

Doran notched the win in the Feb. 4 season opener, when he allowed one run and three hits in seven innings.

So, a rebuilt OCC starting rotation has now thrown 13 innings (as starters), surrendering just seven hits and one run.

“[Cerda, who was 6-1 with two saves and a 1.50 earned-run average as a senior at Sonora High in 2008] is a kid that we liked last year and he needed to take a year off to get some things together,” OCC Coach John Altobelli said. “He’s a strike-thrower and a competitor. He did a great job for us and we expect a good year from him.”

Cerda, who was also a center fielder and leadoff hitter who hit .344 as a junior and a senior at Sonora, said he was unsure of what to expect in his initial OCC start.

“The butterflies were big,” said Cerda, who struck out the first two hitters he faced and did not allow a runner past second base. “I didn’t get a very good night’s sleep. I just tried to keep my composure out there and stay focused. Now that I have the butterflies out of my system, I should be OK.”

Cerda’s chances of earning the victory appeared better than OK, after freshman first baseman Matt Glazier doubled in Mykal Stokes in the first inning and freshman catcher Brooklyn Foster scored from second on an infield error in the fifth to give OCC a 2-0 cushion.

But Long Beach, for which starter Jared Smith worked effectively into the seventh, went to work on Arthur.

After a leadoff walk in the Vikings seventh, Smith’s double to left ruined the shutout. Smith advanced to third on a wild pitch and, with one out, scored on David Compton’s sacrifice fly.

Freshman shortstop Jordan Beck singled to open the OCC seventh and advanced on Zac Luther’s sacrifice bunt. Beck then scored on Foster’s RBI single. Foster later came around to score on a fielder’s-choice grounder by sophomore left fielder Kris Martin.

Glazier, who walked to lead off the eighth, scored on a double-play grounder to give OCC a 5-2 lead.

But Long Beach made the Pirates’ sweat, as Chris Jacobs lined a two-out home run to left and the next two hitters singled.

Doran, however, prevented further damage.

“We kind of had him penciled in if we needed him,” Altobelli said of Doran, who is scheduled to start Saturday at Long Beach. “Obviously, we didn’t think we needed him to start out that [ninth] inning, so he had to get warmed up in a hurry.”

Stokes and Foster had two hits apiece for the winners, who visit Long Beach today in a game that was originally scheduled for Tuesday, but postponed due to rain.

Nonconference

Orange Coast 5, Long Beach 3

SCORE BY INNINGS

Smith, Santiago (7), Myrworld (8) and B. Compton; Cerda, Arthur (7), Abrams (8), Doran (9) and Foster. W – Arthur, 1-0. L – Smith, 0-2. Sv – Doran (1). 2B – Stokes (OCC), Keener (LB), D. Compton (LB), B. Compton (LB). HR – Jacobs (LB).