Sophomore pitcher Josh Haley led Santa Ana to an 8-3 victory over rival Orange Coast College Pirates Tuesday.
On what might be his last home game for the Dons, Haley pitched a complete game in his first outing after returning from an injury that took most of his season.
“It was a long hard road back for him. We’re happy that he was able to come back from injury before the season ended,” Don’s sophomore outfielder Marcus Johnson said.
Santa Ana jumped on the Pirates early, scoring four runs on five hits in the first inning on Orange Coast pitcher Michael Rhylick. Dons’ leadoff hitter Micah Pietila-Wiggs got it going early by singling on the game’s first pitch.
“We had a bunch of competitive at-bats from the get-go and jumped out early,” Johnson said.
Santa Ana added two more runs in the second inning.
Freshman catcher Luke Davis hit a solo home run to deep center field, scoring the fifth run. Sophomore infielder James Williams hit an RBI single to add the sixth run.
Orange Coast scored their only three runs in the fourth and fifth innings. But Haley was never threatened, working out of a bases-loaded jam to keep the score 6-3 Dons at the end of the fifth inning.
Santa Ana scored two more runs in the seventh inning, making it 8-3 and assuring Haley of the win.
“We have to continue to do what we did today, jump on them early and minimize errors,” Johnson said.
Santa Ana hosts the Pirates on Thursday at 2 pm for the last home game of the season.
Due to Covid-19 restrictions, only two family members for every Dons player are allowed to attend.
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