Pirates shutout in series finale to Taft

Third baseman Ryan Pearce went 2-for-3 to lead Porterville College at the plate in a 7-0 loss to visiting Taft College on Saturday. The defeat closed out a three-game Central Valley Conference series that saw Taft win two of three.

The Pirates couldn't get much going against Taft starting pitcher Kaivon Kealoha as he tossed seven scoreless innings and struck out eight.

Taft scored two runs in the third, two more in the sixth, and blew the game open with a three-run rally in the eighth. Alfredo Vasquez took the loss for the Pirates as he allowed four runs and eight hits over 5 2/3 innings.

Just three games remain for Porterville (6-31, 5-13 CVC) as the Pirates will open their final conference series on Tuesday (April 24) at Merced College. The set moves to PC for Thursday's (April 26) game and returns to Merced for the series and season finale on Friday (April 27). All games are set for 2 p.m. starts.