SPORTS RECAP: Men’s volleyball enters playoffs on win streak, softball wins 4 in 5 days

The Orange Coast College men’s volleyball team heads into the postseason with three-straight wins under its belt, while the OCC softball team grinded out four wins in a five day span, including back-to-back wins in a double header. OCC programs went 9-3 between April 10-16.

Men’s Volleyball (15-3)

The Pirates closed out the regular season with a 3-0 sweep over Golden West College at home on Wednesday. The home win marked OCC’s third-straight victory as Coast ramps up for the CCCAA Southern California Regionals playoffs. 

The Pirates won the first set easily by a score of 25-10, before encountering some resistance from Golden West in the second set. GWC kept the second set close until Coast pulled away with a dominant 17-3 run. 

Facing elimination, the Rustlers again put up a fight in the third set, but OCC was able to pull away with a small four-point run midway through the set. That narrow margin was enough for Coast to clutch up the win as both teams traded shots at the end of the match. 

The men’s volleyball team will play in its first playoff game on Friday against a yet-to-be-determined opponent.

Freshman outside-hitter Cole Hauser led the Pirates in scoring with 10.5 points, nine kills and three block assists. 

Softball (13-7)

The Pirates went 4-2 on the week, tallying two conference wins along the way. OCC’s schedule was jam-packed with make-up games due to weather delays earlier in the season, leading to the Pirates playing six games in five days with a doubleheader on Friday. 

One of the conference wins came midway through the six-game marathon when OCC secured a walk-off win over Saddleback College on Wednesday. 

Coast would go on to lose Thursday’s home game 8-2 against Santiago Canyon College. 

Although the Pirates got on the board with a run in the first inning, Santiago countered with back-to-back, three-run innings in the second and third to take a 6-2 lead.

The Hawks shutout OCC the rest of the game, and would tack on another two runs in the seventh to secure the win handily. 

Despite the loss, sophomore infielder Gianna Gozo had a good showing for the Pirates on offense. She went 2-for-3 at the plate, tallying a run and an RBI. 

Coast bounced back on Friday with back-to-back road wins in the double-header against Golden West College to finish out the week on a high point. 

The first game was a low-scoring affair, ending 2-1 in favor of OCC. 

Coast would score first, putting up a single run in the second inning before extending their lead with another run in the top of the third. The Rustlers scored their lone run of the game shortly after in their half of the third. 

Neither team could produce another run the rest of the game, leading to OCC just barely holding on for the win by a one-run margin. 

The second game was more lively, with OCC coming out on top 9-4. 

Golden West jumped out to an early lead with a run in the first inning and added on another in the third to go up 2-0. 

Coast finally got on the board in the fifth inning before blowing the game wide open with a seven-run sixth inning, giving the Pirates a 8-4 lead through six. 

The Rustlers answered back with a pair of runs in their half of the sixth, but it wasn’t enough to match OCC’s late-game surge of offense. 

Sophomore Pirate outfielder Emilie Lapena had a masterful showing at the plate, going 4-for-5 in her at bats with two runs scored and an RBI. 

The softball team will play their next game on the road against Santiago Canyon College on Wednesday at 3 p.m. 

Men’s Tennis (12-7)

The Pirates bowed out of the California Community College Athletic Association Southern California regional playoffs following a 5-0 loss on the road against undefeated Ventura College on Tuesday. 

OCC wrapped up its season 12-7 overall, splitting its conference games right down the middle with a record of 4-4 on the year.