OCC Baseball Plays the Host

Orange Coast, the most surprising baseball team in Orange County last spring, opens the season today in its own tournament.

The Pirates, who made the playoffs last season for the first time since 1993, host San Jacinto at 10 a.m. in the OCC Matt O’Brien Memorial tournament.

O’Brien, a pitcher at OCC the last two seasons, died from injuries suffered in an all-terrain vehicle accident in December. He was expected to play at Chapman this spring.

Saddleback also will host games in the tournament, against San Diego City at 10 a.m. and Moorpark at 2 p.m. today.

Santa Ana, which finished third in the state last season, hosts Cuesta at 2 p.m. today in the South Bay tournament.

Cypress, which finished second in the state last season, plays in the College of the Desert tournament, Fullerton is in a tournament in Arizona and Golden West is in the Bakersfield tournament, all starting today.

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Saddleback hosts Santa Ana at 7:30 p.m. tonight in an Orange Empire Conference men’s basketball game that will also be a scholarship fund-raiser.

The scholarship, in the name of former assistant coach Mike Holtrey, will be given to a Gaucho sophomore at the end of the season. Holtrey died this summer at age 37 because of an internal infection.