Vidrio's one-hit masterpiece lifts Pirates to 5-0 win over Tigers

COSTA MESA -- Sophomore lefty Art Vidrio made his first collegiate complete game a memorable one as he tossed a one-hitter to lead the Orange Coast College baseball team to a 5-0 conference win over visiting Riverside City College on Thursday afternoon at Wendell Pickens Field.

After surrendering a leadoff double to RCC's Logan Griffin, Vidrio was brilliant the rest of the way, retiring 26 of the next 29 batters he faced the rest of the way. He walked just two and struck out nine to improve to 5-1 for the year.

The last OCC pitcher to pitch a complete-game one-hitter was Ryan Shopshire against Palomar on Feb. 23, 2007.

While Vidrio was mowing down the Tigers (15-7, 3-6 in the Orange Empire Conference), the Pirates (15-9, 6-3) picked up the majority of their offense from the bottom-third of their batting order.

In fact the 7-9 hitters for Coast went a combined 5-for-8 with four runs scored and three RBI, highlighted by shortstop Jeff Nellis, who went 2-for-2 with a run and three RBI from the No. 9 spot. Nick Grimes added two hits and two runs, while Chaneng Varela added a hit, a run and an RBI in three at-bats for OCC.

Coast took the lead for good in the bottom of the third inning. With two outs and nobody on, Nellis singled to right, went to second on a hit-by-pitch by Robert Longtree and scored on an RBI-single by Varela.

In the fifth, a single by Grimes and a double by Chris Prescott was followed by a two-run double to left by Nellis, putting the Pirates in front, 3-0. Grimes would double to right-center in the seventh and score two batters later on a squeeze bunt by Nellis to make it 4-0.

Coast would make it 5-0 on an RBI-ground out by Stephen Corona, giving Vidrio more than enough offense to go the distance.

Following Riverside's leadoff double, Vidrio retired the next three batters in order to get out of that jam and in the second, a walk and hit batter put runners on first and second with one out. But, Vidrio managed to pick off the RCC runner at second to wiggle out of that jam and from there, the Tigers would not be heard from the rest of the afternoon. 

Only one more Tiger batter would reach base after the second inning -- a leadoff walk by Mason Fishback -- and he would be eliminated by a double-play grounder by Griffin. Vidrio would face the minimum 21 batters over the final seven innings to finish out his 125-pitch effort.