Baseball: Pirates break losing streak

COSTA MESA - The Orange Coast College baseball team won for the

first time in Orange Empire Conference action, defeating visiting

Riverside, 8-4, Thursday.

The Pirates’ pitching staff received a much-needed strong effort from

sophomores Jamie Brown and Drew Parkin.

Brown threw five-plus innings to pick up the win, while Parkin earned his

fourth save of the season with 4 1/3 innings of relief.

Chris Laws was 2 for 4 with a double, a run scored and an RBI, while Ryan

France broke out of a hitting slump with a two-run single in the fourth,

giving the Bucs (6-13, 1-7 in conference) the lead for good.

Jason Reuss clubbed a solo home run to add to the Pirates’ offense.

OCC will take on first-place Santa Ana for a two-game tilt beginning

Saturday at noon in Santa Ana.

ORANGE EMPIRE CONFERENCE

Orange Coast 8, Riverside 4

Riverside 010 021 000 - 4 8 1

Orange Coast 001 411 10x - 8 12 0 Sander, Hernandez (6) and Thorburn. Brown, Parkin (6) and Keller. W -

Brown, 2-1. L - Sander. Sv - Parkin, 4. 2B - Schuler (R) 2, Stone (R),

Laws (OCC), Wiethorn (OCC). HR - Reuss (OCC).