Baseball: Pirates drop opening series to Lassen

With high hopes for the new 2017 season, the Porterville College Baseball team will need to have a short memory. Facing the Lassen Community College Cougars for a three-game series, the Pirates were swept as they totaled just three runs over the weekend at home.

Porterville, now 0-3, will look to earn its first win on Tuesday (Jan. 31) when the Pirates travel south to Antelope Valley College in Lancaster.

Game 1: Lassen 4, Porterville 1
In Friday's season-opener, Porterville totaled five hits and fell behind 4-0 in the sixth inning before finally scoring a run in the bottom of the sixth to get on the scoreboard. Dane Wasden smacked a triple and came in to score on a sacrifice fly Eric Loredo. Wasden had two of PC five hits, as he added a double to his 2 for 4 effort at the plate. Jordan Grader took the loss for the Pirates as he allowed three runs (two earned) and seven hits over five innings.

Game 2: Lassen 11, Porterville 1
Lassen erupted for seven runs in the top of the eighth inning to blow open the game and hand Porterville its second loss on Saturday morning. Once again, the Pirates couldn't get much going offensively as they managed just three hits. PC scored its lone run in the bottom of the first when Wasden lined a two-out single to score Roderick Pugh. Jhared Gonzalez was saddled with the loss despite pitching well in his first start. He allowed three runs (one earned) and two hits over 4 2/3 innings while striking out four.

Game 3: Lassen 7, Porterville 1
Lassen completed the sweep, closing out Saturday's doubleheader with a 7-1 win over the Pirates.