COMMUNITY COLLEGE ROUNDUP : Brewer, Guymon Help Orange Coast Clean Up on Saddleback

Orange Coast got solid relief from Jim Brewer and Mike Guymon and beat Saddleback, 8-6, in an Orange Empire Conference baseball game Saturday at OCC.

Brewer, a freshman left-hander from Huntington Beach High, came in with the Pirates trailing, 4-2, in the fourth. But he retired the first nine he faced and went on to allow a hit and two runs (one earned) in 4 2/3 innings for the victory.

Brewer, who struck out five and walked one, is 2-0.

“He did a super job. He was the difference in the game for us,” OCC Coach John Altobelli said.

Brewer was replaced in the eighth by Guymon, a freshman right-hander from Woodbridge High, with a runner on second and OCC ahead, 8-6. Guymon got Jon Lauderdale to fly deep to left for the third out. He then retired the side in order, including two strikeouts, in the ninth for his first save.

When the teams played Thursday, Saddleback had scored a run in the ninth to tie and another in the 11th to win, 5-4.

“The ninth inning has been a crap shoot for us against Saddleback all season,” Altobelli said. “We never know what’s going to happen.”

OCC, with the help of three Saddleback errors, scored five runs, four unearned, in the fourth to open a 7-4 lead.

Geoff Wilson had a run-scoring single, and one out later, Nick Valencia drove in two runs with a single. Todd Kehrli capped the inning with an RBI single.

The Pirates’ final run came when Valencia hit the first pitch of the seventh inning over the left-field fence for his fourth home run.

Deric Yanagisawa had a two-run single in the second for OCC (17-15, 9-7 in conference).

Justin Greco had two hits, including an RBI double, and scored two runs for Saddleback (14-14, 7-9).