Community College Baseball: OCC throws away lead, first place
CYPRESS — Though the Orange Coast College and Cypress baseball teams combined for 71 hits and 45 runs in two Orange Empire Conference games this week, Thursday’s first-place showdown was ultimately decided by a two-run throwing error by Pirates shortstop Jeff Nellis.
With the Pirates ahead, 10-9, and the Chargers down to their last out with the bases loaded, Jack Flansburg hit a bouncer to shallow shortstop. Nellis charged and fielded cleanly, but with his momentum carrying him toward home plate, he threw across his body low and wide of the first baseman. The ball skipped into foul territory, allowing the tying and winning runs to score.
The victory, the second in three days over OCC, lifted the Chargers (22-8, 11-4 in conference), ranked No. 3 in Southern California, out of a first-place tie with the Pirates (19-11, 10-5), ranked No. 2 in SoCal.
Understandably, it also sent the Pirates’ morale plummeting deeper than the one-game margin it now trails the Chargers in the standings with six conference games remaining.
OCC Coach John Altobelli was most miffed by the nature of the ninth-inning collapse that included two walks and a hit batter to set the stage for the costly error.
“We gave it to them,” said Altobelli, whose team rallied from deficits of 3-1 and 6-4 to build cushions of 9-6 and 10-7. “Walk, walk, hit batter [in the ninth]. Then we gave them two freebies [unearned runs on the game-ending error]. We didn’t set our feet to throw the ball. We want to throw off-balance all of a sudden and we throw the ball away.
“We were in a position to win, which is good, but it’s obviously disappointing. The guys worked too hard to have that happen today.”
The Pirates appeared to have the best of the third and deciding conference game between the last two state champions (OCC in 2014 and Cypress in 2013).
Freshman second baseman Chaneng Varela doubled twice and drove in five runs, including a bases-clearing blast to the left-center-field fence to cap a four-run sixth inning that put the visitors ahead, 9-6.
Varela, who was two for three, also walked and eventually scored on a Jack Kruger groundout in the eighth to put the visitors up, 10-7.
Sophomore right fielder Tommy Bell was three for four with a double and three RBIs to help bolster the Pirates’ 13-hit attack. It was only the third time all season that OCC scored in double digits, the first time in 23 games.
Sophomore left fielder and leadoff man Robert Longtree was three for five and scored three times, while freshman center fielder Chris Prescott was three for five with two runs for OCC, which entered Tuesday’s 15-9 home setback to Cypress on a seven-game winning streak in which it had outscored opponents, 50-17.
Sophomore pitcher Dominic Purpura, making only his second start in 29 career appearances, was in line to earn the victory, despite allowing seven runs on 12 hits in six innings. Purpura, who leads the Pirates with six saves and has won three of his four decisions, including his first start on March 28, saw his earned-run average go from 1.67 to 2.76 this season.
Cypress sophomore ace Nathan Kuchta, whose seven wins entering the week were tied for the conference lead, was touched for nine runs, eight earned, on nine hits in 5 2/3 innings. He avoided absorbing what would have been his second loss this season, but saw his ERA expand from 1.95 to 2.76.
Cypress, which added 15 hits to the 29 it amassed on Tuesday, committed three errors, including two in the third that resulted in the Pirates’ lone unearned run. After Varela had doubled in a pair of runs to knot the score, 3-3, Tommy Bell reached on a throwing error. When Bell advanced to second on a subsequent wild pitch, catcher John Santospago made an errant throw in an attempt to get Bell. When the ball kicked away, Varela scored from third to give OCC a 4-3 edge.
Cypress used four hits to score three runs in the fourth. But the Pirates kept battling, and scoring, while Cypress got solo home runs from Aaron Case (in the sixth) and UC Irvine-bound Jackson Willeford (in the eighth) to enter the final inning two runs down.
With one out, OCC reliever J.T. McLellan, who was charged with the loss, issued a walk, hit a batter and allowed a single to load the bases.
Sophomore Scott Serigstad then replaced McLellan and retired the first batter he faced on a sacrifice fly that allowed Cypress to pull within 10-9. After Serigstad walked Case to load the bases, he induced what appeared to be the game-ending grounder. But Nellis, whose eight errors lead the team, instead triggered a jubilant Cypress celebration.
Cypress center fielder Joe Van Marter was two for three Tuesday and was six for eight in the two games. He was one of four Chargers who had six hits in the two wins over OCC.
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Orange Empire Conference
Cypress 11, Orange Coast 10
SCORE BY INNINGS
OCC 103 014 010 – 10 13 1
Cypress 030 301 013 – 11 15 3
Purpura, McLellan (7), Serigstad (9) and Kruger; Kuchta, Ornelas (6), Smith (8) and Santospago. W – Smith, 2-0. L – McLellan, 1-1. 2B – Varela (OCC) 2, Van Marter (C), Brintz (C), Bell (OCC). HR – Aa. Case (C), Willeford (C).