Pirates take wind out of Bobcats with 12-4 win

COSTA MESA -- The Orange Coast College softball are pushing all the right buttons in 2025 and on Thursday, the Pirates used the long ball to blow away visiting Saddleback, 12-4 in six innings at the OCC Softball Stadium.

With a firece wind swirling and blowing out, the runs were going to eventually come for both teams.

After a couple of scoreless frames, the Pirates (20-4, 10-1 in the Orange Empire Conference) turned an infield single by Frida Esters and a walk by Kelsey McNair into three runs as Jasmyn Morales found the wind tunnel and ripped a home run over the left-field fence, putting Coast ahead, 3-0.

Camila Hernandez kept the Bobcats (18-8, 2-5) off of the scoreboard for the first five innings before falling into trouble in the sixth. A hit batter and back-to-back singles loaded the bases with nobody out before Macy Smith unloaded the bases with a grand slam, putting the Bobcats up, 4-3. 

Relief pitcher Laura Episom (3-1) wiggled out of a bases-loaded jam later in the same inning, but kept Saddleback to just a four-run frame.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Saddleback grand slam was quickly forgotten. Isabel Lopez singled to lead off the sixth for OCC and was moved over on a sacrifice bunt by Kayla Vargas. Pinch-hitter Kileah Lologo came through with an RBI-single to left-center, scoring Lopez and tying the game at 4.

A walk by Esters (2-for-2, two runs) and a single by Brooke Whiteman loaded the bases for the Pirates and a hard-earned, bases-loaded walk by pinch-hitter Marissa Sardinas plated pinch-runner Reyna Hernandez to give Coast a 5-4 lead. An error plated another run for OCC to make it 6-4 before Morales stepped up and launched a grand slam to put Coast comfortably ahead, 10-4. The sophomore standout finished the game 3-for-4 with two runs, two home runs and seven RBI. 

Kimora Tuipala (2-for-4) kept the inning going with a single to left-center before Lopez (2-for-4, two runs, two RBI) ended the game with a two-run home run to left field, turning a sixth-inning deficit into a six-inning mercy-rule win for the Pirates.

Game 3 of this week's three-game set takes place on Thursday at Saddleback College, beginning at 2 p.m. OCC's next home game will be Thursday, April 8 against Riverside, also at 2 p.m.