COMMUNITY COLLEGE ROUNDUP : Limas Finally Settles Down, Golden West Defeats OCC

Chico Limas gave up 11 hits, but only three in the final six innings, and Golden West rallied to beat Orange Coast, 6-3, in an Orange Empire Conference baseball game Tuesday in Costa Mesa.

Limas (2-1) gave up three runs and eight hits in the first three innings and OCC led, 3-1. OCC left six runners on in the first three innings but only three after that.

“He finally got his pitches down,” Golden West Coach Bert Villarreal said. “Once he did that, he was much better.”

Ben Mendoza hit his first home run of the season for Golden West in the fourth to cut the lead to 3-2. The Rustlers then tied it, 3-3, in the sixth when Rob Walker singled, went to second on an error, and scored on a two-out, opposite-field double by Robert Pickering.

Golden West took the lead in the seventh on a home run by Garrett DeGiorgio, his second this season. The Rustlers added two runs in the eighth on RBI singles by Pickering and John Arnold.

Pickering had three hits and Mendoza two for Golden West (12-12-1, 5-9 in conference).

Ben Strack had RBI singles in the second and third innings and Scott Sebbo had an RBI double in the third for OCC (13-8, 7-7).

Darin Dabalack allowed nine hits and six runs, four earned, in 7 1/3 innings to take the loss.