Bucs fight off defeat

COSTA MESA — The baseball term is fighting it off. It typically refers to a hitter managing to make contact, usually poor contact, with a pitch that is inside or a pitch on which the hitter is fooled.

For Orange Coast College, the term also became a metaphor for its 6-5 come-from-behind victory over visiting College of the Canyons in the opener of a best-of-three Southern California Regional playoff series Friday.

The Pirates (25-19) fought off a strong pitching performance by Canyons sophomore lefty starter Mike Robbins.

They also fought through a 5-2 deficit by scoring four runs in the eighth inning to take the crucial early lead in the series that continues today at 11 a.m. at OCC.

Should Canyons win the second game today, the deciding game would follow at OCC. The series winner advances to the super regionals.

OCC sophomore catcher Chris Lum advanced to the batter’s box with the bases loaded and the Pirates trailing, 5-3, Thursday.

After Mike Ferraro was hit by a pitch to drive in the first run of the inning, Lum had a little extra time to ponder his crucial at-bat, when Canyons replaced Robbins with hard-throwing lefty reliever Jason Pfau.

“I was a little anxious, but I love being in that clutch situation when you’ve got to get the job done,” said Lum, who was one for 10 with the bases loaded this season to that point.

Lum swung late on a fastball away for strike one. He was late again on the next pitch, another outside fastball. But he got just enough of it to bounce it over the first baseman for a two-run single that tied the score.

“I got the job done,” said Lum, who has produced in the clutch before this season, OCC Coach John Altobelli said. “I love that situation. I love the pressure.

“The first pitch [from Pfau], I tried to swing too big,” Lum said. “After that, I realized I needed to stay within myself and try to get a base knock.”

Altobelli said Lum may have succeeded by virtue of luck more than skill.

“That first pitch was by him,” Altobelli said. “And the second one was pretty well by him, but he just got a piece of it and it took the right hop. We’ll take it.”

The Pirates then received some more good fortune when Pfau was called for a balk. The call allowed Ferraro to score from third with the go-ahead run.

“That was a tough call, a very tough call,” Altobelli said of the balk, which was basically rendered moot when Halston Barcelo singled with two outs (Ferraro would have scored on Barcelo’s single anyway).

Up, 6-5, OCC went to sophomore pitcher Keith Demorgandie, who worked a perfect ninth for his third save.

OCC had been 2-10 when trailing after seven innings this season. The Pirates are now 22-1 when leading after eight.

“This was huge,” Altobelli said of the series-opening win. “Hopefully we can get off to a good start [today] and keep the pressure on.”

Canyons (24-19) put the pressure on early when John Hay belted a two-run home run to open the scoring in the fourth. It was his 11th homer of the season.

But OCC sophomore Garrett Smith answered with a two-run homer in the fourth, his third of the season, to knot the score.

Canyons, which bunched its four hits to score four runs off OCC starter Ryan Shopshire in 5 1/3 innings, scored twice in the sixth and once in the eighth. The Cougars finished with seven hits.

Nick Rotkowitz opened the OCC eighth with bunt single and Eric Oliver followed with a single to left. Cory Olson then walked to set the stage for Ferraro.

Daniel Jacobson earned the win in relief.

Demorgandie is scheduled to start today for OCC.

BARRY FAULKNER may be reached at (714) 966-4615 or at [email protected].Southern California

Regional Playoffs

Orange Coast 6, Canyons 5

Score by Innings

COC 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 1 0 - 5 7 0

OCC 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 4 x - 6 11 2

Shopshire, Hauser (6), Jacobson (8), Demorgandie (9) and Lum; Robbins, Pfau and Perez. W -- Jacobson, 2-1. L -- Robbins, 9-4. Sv -- Demorgandie (3). 2B -- Harris (COC), Kartch (OCC), Eveland (COC). HR -- Hay (COC), Smith (OCC).