Pirates open 2026 season with 5-3 win over Rio Hondo

PORTERVILLE – The 2026 Porterville College baseball season got off to a solid start.

Led by the bat of freshman Josh Myers and an impressive start on the mound by sophomore Louie Torres, the Pirates came out on top of Rio Hondo College by a final score of 5-3 in both teams' season opener on Friday afternoon.

Myers made his presence felt immediately in his collegiate debut by launching a solo home run in the bottom of the first inning to get PC on the board. He smacked a double, drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the seventh, and scored twice to end 2 for 3 with 2 RBI in his first game in a Porterville uniform.

Torres, a preseason CCCBCA All-American, lived up to the billing. He went six strong innings in his opening-day start, allowing just a run and three hits. Torres struck out five and walked two in an efficient 87-pitch outing.

Alex Orozco closed out the contest pitching the final three innings for the save.

The PC offense banged out 13 hits on Friday, led by a 3 for 3 effort (1 RBI) from Chris Blanco. Tyler Stansberry (2 for 5, run), Zane Thornton (2 for 4, 2 RBI), and Julian Nevarez (2 for 4, run) all had two hits each.

Thornton and Blanco laced RBI-singles as part of a big three-run, seventh-inning rally.

Porterville, now 1-0 overall, will look to keep the momentum rolling on Saturday (Jan. 24) when the Pirates host Diablo Valley College in a non-conference doubleheader. Game 1 set for 11 a.m. with a 2 p.m. start scheduled for Game 2.