Geston, Eyraud lead Pirates to CVC-opening win over Cerro Coso

Freshman designated player Angel Geston drove in four runs while freshman pitcher Ashley Eyraud tossed a shutout to lead Porterville College to another big win, this time an 8-0 mercy-rule win in its Central Valley Conference opener against visiting Cerro Coso College on Thursday.

The Pirates continue their hot start to the 2018 season and are now 9-0 overall and 1-0 in conference play. PC has powered its way to five-inning, run-rule wins six times this season and has outscored its opponents by an 115-8 margin.

Porterville jumped on Cerro Coso starting pitcher Alyssa Para early, scoring three runs in the bottom of the first inning. Chelsea Ramos got party started with her RBI single that drove in Sophia Carrillo. Geston brought in Ramos with a grounder to short that was misplayed and Shantae Gutierrez closed the rally with a double that scored Geston.

Ramos' fielder's choice grounder scored a run in the second, Before Geston delivered the big blow of the game in the fourth. She cleared the bases with a double to put PC up 7-0. And in the fifth, a Cerro Coso error allowed Gutierrez to score the game-ending run.

 Ramos went 1 for 2 with a walk, 2 RBI, and scored a pair runs. She continues to lead the state with a .767 batting average and 1.533 slugging percentage. Geston isn't far behind, ranking third in the state with a .630 batting average.

In the circle, Eyraud went the distance and scattered five hits over five innings in the win. She improved to 4-0 and dropped her earned run average to 0.60 which ranks No. 3 in the state.

Up next for the Pirates, they are scheduled to host Bakersfield College in a non-conference game on Saturday (March 3). PC returns to conference action on Tuesday (March 6) when it travels to Taft College for a doubleheader set to start at 1 p.m.