CYPRESS, CA – The Cypress College baseball team (15-5, 0-3 OEC) let another game slip through their fingers against Orange Empire Conference rival Orange Coast College (16-3-1, 3-0 OEC) on Saturday. The No. 2 Pirates took the third game of the best-of-three series to complete a three game sweep of No. 1 Cypress, 8-6. The Pirates had come from behind wins in the previous two matchups, defeating the Chargers 8-7 on Tuesday and 8-7 on Thursday, before Saturday's 11-inning battle.
The Pirates jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first inning as Murphy Stehly got things going with a leadoff homer to left field. OCC would add another run with the bases loaded on an RBI groundout by Ryan O'Halloran.
Coast added another run in the third, but Cypress answered with a run in the bottom of the third and another in the bottom of the fourth. An Eric Bigani (2-for-5, RBI) sacrifice fly opened the scoring for Cypress. Isaiah Stewart (3-for-5, RBI) helped cut into the lead with an RBI single to center field.
The Chargers would take their first lead of the game, 4-3, after scoring two runs in the sixth. Bobby Silvis (2-for-5, RBI) drove a hard-hit RBI single to center field to tie the game, before Jesse Lopez (2-for-6, RBI) roped an RBI single to right field, giving Cypress the lead.
It was déjà vu for the Chargers, as the Pirates added two runs in the eighth, re-taking the lead on a bases loaded walk similar to Tuesday's game one. Stehly added another run in the ninth with an RBI double down the left field line, giving Orange Coast a 6-4 lead.
This time the Chargers answered, as Hayden Winters (1-for-1, RBI) and Frankie Islas (1-for-1, RBI) each drove in runs to tie the game at 6-6. However, the Pirates found a way to take a two-run lead in the eleventh and hang on to take the game and the series over Cypress.
Cypress baseball will look to bounce back in another OEC best-of-three series against No. 8 Saddleback College. Schedule is as follows:
Game 1 – Tuesday 3/12 @ Saddleback | 2:00pm
Game 2 – Thursday 3/14 vs. Saddleback | 2:00pm
Game 3 – Saturday 3/16 @ Saddleback | 12:00pm
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