Porterville College first baseman Dane Wasden (pictured) went 3 for 4 with a double but his good day at the plate was overshadowed by poor defensive play by the Pirates in a 9-1 loss at Taft College on Tuesday.

Wasden had three of Porterville's five hits in the contest but it was Jordan Szolek that helped the Pirates manufacture their lone run in the contest.

He led off the top of the sixth inning with a single and stole second base to get in scoring position. Szolek moved to third with Mateo Perez' ground out and came in to score thanks to another ground out by Dylan Reed.

Jordon Grader took the loss for Porterville despite a solid outing. He allowed four runs (just two earned) and six hits while striking out five batters over five innings. The Pirates committed five errors in the contest that led to three unearned runs.

The Central Valley Conference loss was the Pirates' seventh straight and dropped them to 3-18 overall and 0-4 in CVC play. The Pirates and Taft Cougars continue their three-game conference series on Thursday (Mar. 16) with a 2 p.m. game in Porterville. The series finale is Saturday (Mar. 18) at 1 p.m. back at Taft.