Pirates suffer series sweep by CVC-leading Sequoias

Porterville College is still in search of its first Central Valley Conference win after dropping all three games of a conference series to first-place College of the Sequoias. The Pirates were shutout twice while 11 errors over the three games proved to be costly.

Game 1: Sequoias 10, Porterville 0
PC totaled just four hits in Tuesday's opener in Porterville, including a double and single by Justin Turner (2-for-3).

COS put together a big inning in the third, rallying for six runs off Pirates' start Nico Portillo for all the scoring the Giants would need. He took the loss after allowing seven runs and 11 hits over eight innings.

Sequoias' Jacob Hernandez tossed a four-hit shutout and struck out seven.

Game 2: Sequoias 20, Porterville 4
The Pirates had some success at the plate, collecting 10 hits but Porterville pitchers had a tough time containing COS' offense in Thursday's loss in Visalia as the Giants banged out 16 hits.

Brandon Dodd (3-for-5, 2B, 2 R) and Chris Brandon (3-for-4, 1 RBI) both had good games at the plate for Porterville.

Porterville was in the game early. COS put up two runs in the second off Pirate starter Matt Cox before PC came back with a run to cut the lead in half in the third. Leeland Crawford's double scored Dodd with Porterville's first run of the series.

But COS responded with three runs in the third before blowing the game open with four runs in the fifth.

Cox suffered the loss after allowing four runs and three hits over two innings.

Game 3: Sequoias 5, Porterville 0
Alfredo Vasquez turned in an impressive pitching performance for the Pirates, but still came out on the losing end in the series finale on Saturday back in Porterville.

Three PC errors led to five unearned runs for Vasquez, who went the distance in the nine-inning effort. He scattered six hits and struck out three. Vasquez got stronger as the game went on, as he retired 11 of the final 12 batters he faced.

Porterville's bats were once again held in check. Dodd had two of Porterville three hits in the contest as four COS pitchers combined for the shutout.

Porterville fell to 1-31 overall and 0-15 in the CVC. The Pirates return to action on Tuesday (Apr. 9) when they begin a three-game conference series at Taft College. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.