The Colleges : Community College Roundup : McCleod Lifts Orange Coast to 2-1 Win

Brian McCleod pitched five strong innings in relief as Orange Coast College defeated Long Beach, 2-1, Thursday in the second round of the Long Beach baseball tournament.

McLeod (1-0) replaced starter Ryan Thibault in the fifth and allowed only one run. He pitched out of trouble in the eighth and ninth innings.

In both innings, the Vikings put two runners on with two out. McCleod got a strikeout to end the eighth and a ground out to end the game.

The Pirates (17-7-1) took the lead in the sixth. Scott Talanoa led off the inning with a double, and two outs later, Craig Nixon doubled him home to put Orange Coast ahead, 2-1.

Orange Coast took a 1-0 lead in the third. Mike Van Blaricon led off with a single and stole second. After a ground out advanced him to third, Hector Santa Cruz drove him home with a sacrifice to center.

In another Long Beach tournament game:

L.A. Harbor 5, Fullerton 3--Pat Ahearn scattered eight hits and struck out five for Harbor at Fullerton. Harbor (10-10) scored twice in the fifth on RBI singles by George Baker and Ryan Karp to take a 4-2 lead. Tony Osendorf had three hits and an RBI for Fullerton (8-14).

In the Channel Island tournament:

Rancho Santiago 5, Moorpark 1--Jack Bailey pitched a six-hitter, striking out nine, for Rancho Santiago in the championship semifinal game at Moorpark. The Dons (16-8) took a 2-0 lead in the second on a double by Greg Martineau and a single by Tim Reynolds. Martineau added a solo home run in the seventh. Bailey had a shutout for 8 2/3 innings before giving up a solo home run.

In the Allan Hancock tournament:

Cypress 8, Allan Hancock 5--Jason Friedman had four hits and two RBIs and scored twice for Cypress (18-8) at Allan Hancock. Joe Gonzalez had three hits and three RBIs, Steve Gill had three hits, and Terry Tewell had a solo home run for Cypress.

In the Saddleback tournament:

Grossmont 9, Golden West 8 (10 innings)--Grossmont scored three runs in the top of the 10th to take a 9-6 lead at Saddleback. In the bottom half of the inning, Golden West’s Craig Paquette doubled home a run with two outs. Dan Villegas then doubled home Paquette to pull the Rustlers (12-7) to within one, 9-8. However, with the tying run on second, Josh Bammer grounded out to end the game.