Clutch play from Dons defense secures win over Cougars

With two outs and two runners on base in the top of the 8th, the Cougars were poised to take away the Dons’ one-run lead. Cougars shortstop Isaiah Dominguez stepped up to the plate to face Dons reliever Spencer Johson. The sophomore was put in the game with his back against the wall, inheriting a bases-loaded situation.

Staying calm, Johnson delivered a pitch up 1-2 in the count, but Dominguez got a hold of the pitch and lined it to right field for a hit. As the ball rolled to Dons outfielder Mason Kelly, a Cougar sprinted home, forcing a play at the plate.

Kelly scooped up the ball, aimed and fired home on one bounce for catcher Connor Deitch who swiftly turned and tagged the runner, getting the final out of the inning and extinguishing the Cougars scoring opportunity.

Connor Deitch and Frankie Malagon looking up at the home plate umpire for the call at home. Photo by Brandon Rowley / el Don

The Santa Ana College Dons took on the College of the Canyons Cougars at home on Saturday. The Dons pulled out a 5-4 win in a back-and-forth ballgame to extend their winning streak to four games.

“I got to give credit to Spencer out there on the mound,” said Head Coach Tom Nilles. “He’s the one sophomore we have that returned from last year’s staff. He’s in there for big-time innings so give him all the credit in the world.”

The game opened rough for the Dons, allowing three hits, a walk and giving up a wild pitch all in the first inning. The Cougars took advantage of sloppy pitching, scoring two runs off of pitcher Kalani Santos.

“I was trying to make pitches too perfect,” said Santos. “I had to refocus and I needed to let my defense help me out.”

Freshman pitcher Kalani Santos in his second appearance of the year. Photo by Brandon Rowley / el Don

Santos would recover well only allowing one run over the next five innings and tallying six strikeouts.

Offensively the Dons were led by freshman infielder Jack Mueller, who went 4-5 batting with two RBIs and a stolen base for a run.

“I just wanted to hit the ball hard. That’s the only goal,” said Mueller. “I stayed with my approach and kept doing what I do best.”

Freshman infielder Jack Mueller has been leading off with a .340 on-base %. Photo by Brandon Rowley / el Don

Although the Dons had a solid outing Saturday, the year had started uncharacteristically with a 3-5 record before this four-game streak.

“The reality is we’re young. We graduated a lot. There are 31 freshmen on the roster. So there’s a lot of mistakes that we’re gonna make,” said Coach Nilles. “They weren’t prepared as much as they should have been, which is probably my fault, but the reality is, we’re starting to get back into form step-by-step.”

With Coach Nilles and his young Santa Ana College squads’ slow start behind them, they look to uphold their program’s winning ways and make the state playoffs for the fourth year in a row.