Rio Hondo

COLLEGE MEN Cal Poly Pomona 86, Vanguard 61 Vanguard -- Moreau 5, Pierson 15, Cotter 9, Adamczak 7, Burnette 8, Barney 2, Seekins 0, Hartman 0, Rosborough 12, Enns 0, Egkan 3. 3-pt. goals -- Pierson 3, Cotter 1, Rosborough 1. Fouled out -- none. Technicals -- none. Cal Poly Pomona -- Williams 8, Bonds 17, Sybesma 9, Lambert 5, Ridgway 2, Etemadi 7, Marshall 2, Peterson 5, Boyd 5, Malone 9, Beahm 4, Strange 13. 3-pt. goals -- Malone 2, Williams 1, Sybesma 1, Etemadi 1, Peterson 1. Fouled out -- none.

Steve Virgen If one game is an indication of what type of season the Orange Coast College men's soccer team could have, then the Pirates' 2003 season could be a special one. The Pirates, who were in control for the majority of the game, scored three goals in the second half en route to a 3-0 season-opening nonconference victory over visiting Rio Hondo Wednesday. Throughout the first half, OCC missed on several opportunities, yet still managed to show glimpses of the type of talent it has. "We have the potential to be a great team, but we just look at this as one game," said Kevin Smith, the OCC assistant coach.

VICTORVILLE - Orange Coast College women's softball opened its season on the right foot, sweeping a doubleheader from host Victor Valley, 5-4 and 13-4, Saturday. In game one, Monica Ortega went the distance, striking out eight, while walking only one, while Tasha Thurmond went 2 for 4. In game two, Noelle Espinoza allowed no earned no runs in a complete-game effort for the Bucs. Leading the Pirates' offense was Renee Snyder, who went 5 for 7 with five RBIs in the doubleheader.

WOMEN’S TENNIS Orange Coast 6, Rio Hondo 0 COSTA MESA — The Pirates swept to win the first round of the Southern California regional playoffs Tuesday. No. 1 singles player Brittany Bass dropped just one game, while Brittnie Furuvald and Jasmine Mathieson both won in three sets for OCC (17-0).   MEN’S TENNIS Cerritos 8, Orange Coast 1 CERRITOS — Kevin Tran earned the Pirates’ lone win at No. 5 singles in their quarterfinal loss of the Southern California Regional playoffs Tuesday.

Tony Altobelli COSTA MESA - Orange Coast College co-coach Mauricio Claure predicted his freshman-heavy men's soccer team would be inexperienced, but exciting to watch and needless to say, the Pirates lived up to the preseason hype Monday against visiting Cerritos. Unfortunately, inexperience was a major factor as an early second-half goal by Alex Araneda was the difference in a 1-0 loss for the Pirates in both teams' season opener. "We just fell asleep on the play," Claure said of the goal.

Bryce Alderton Matt Larson can stop dreaming of making it into professional baseball. The former Corona del Mar High standout is there now, even after an arm ailment tried to stall his progress. The 23-year-old right-hander, who didn't pitch for a year following two seasons as a starter for Cal State Northridge, struck out one in two innings of no-hit relief for the Princeton Devil Rays, the rookie-ball affiliate of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, on July 29 in his professional debut in Princeton, W.Va.

Steve Virgen COSTA MESA - The Orange Coast College mens water polo team outscored Saddleback, 6-0, in the first eight minutes of the match as the Pirates' quick start proved to be the difference in their first Orange Empire Conference victory, 17-9, Wednesday at OCC. The Pirates lost their season opener at OEC favorite Golden West, last week. But OCC answered in its second conference match with one of its better performances of the season. "That was the best first quarter we've played all year," Pirates Coach Jason Gall said.

Freshman forward Alisa Carrillo connected on 9 of 14 from the floor and finished with game highs of 22 points and 12 rebounds to claim MVP honors of the Coast Christmas Classic on the OCC campus. The Pirates used their height advantage to its fullest, pounding the ball inside to Carrillo, Liz Mendoza and Lauren Murray throughout the game. The trio combined for 43 points and knocked down 18 of 35 shots to help the Pirates pull away in the second half. The Gauchos raced out of the gate with the first seven points of the game, but the Pirates answered with a 10-2 run to take their first lead of the game just two minutes later.

Deanna Schnabel prepared herself for a shock when she flew to Louisiana to assist victims of Hurricane Gustav. The biggest shock, though, was one she hadn’t anticipated. That was the heat. In the wake of the hurricane, which slammed the Gulf Coast last week, a number of areas lost electricity — which, at the tail end of a muggy Louisiana summer, meant no air conditioning. When Schnabel, a Newport Beach resident, arrived with 29 other Orange County volunteers to assist the American Red Cross, she saw residents lined up around the street to buy generators and ice. In the shelter where she stayed with other volunteers, she had to take care not to slip, since the humidity in the air dampened the floors.

Barry Faulkner NEWPORT BEACH - The Corona del Mar High girls basketball team has some playoff experience ... now. The Sea Kings milked an extra four minutes out of their first postseason game in four seasons, rolling through enough highs and lows along the way to season even the most naive novice. The result was a 60-49 overtime win over visiting La Canada Saturday in the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division III-AA playoffs, propelling the Pacific Coast League champions (22-5)