Brandon RowleyIn a high-stakes matchup between the California No. 3 Santa Ana Dons and the No. 6 Riverside Tigers, the Dons were down to their last out in a tied 7-7 game in the bottom of the ninth.
The Dons’ offense has powered through opponents this season, averaging over 11 runs per game, and the Tigers’ pitching staff held the top four pitchers by ERA, including the reigning Pitcher of the Year. One side had to snap.
Center fielder Evan Reiter stepped up to the plate with Nikko Paoletto standing on second, practically begging for a chance to end the game.
Both teams were hanging on the rails of the dugout in anticipation of the next pitch. While they did win the first game, Santa Ana needed to close out game two to secure the series over Riverside.
In a 0-1 count, Reiter took the pitch and lined it back into center field. Paoletto rounded third as the ball hit the outfield wall, scoring with ease, launching his helmet as he touched home, while everyone swarmed Reiter in the outfield.
“He went a first-pitch slider over the plate, and I knew he was just gonna come back with something on the outer half to make me chase,” said Reiter. “So I got the pitch that I wanted, and I was just able to sit on it and take it the other way.”
The Dons’ explosive offense took down the Tigers’ shutdown pitching by a final score of 8-7 on Thursday Afternoon.
“A win like this is huge when you’re talking about trying to win a conference,” said head coach Tom Nilles. “Their pitching staff is unbelievable.”
The Tigers’ starting pitcher, Ryan Jenkins, came into the game with a conference-leading 1.16 ERA, fresh off a complete game shutout in his last start, but that wouldn’t intimidate the Dons.
“I don’t think any of us really care about that. We’re a good hitting team,” said sophomore Nathaniel Williams. “We all know that we’re going to swing the bat like it was anyone else on the mound; that’s how we compete.”
The Dons would go on to shell Jenkins for five runs in only 2.1 innings of work, as he would get pulled the quickest of any of his starts this season.
“He might not have been as sharp as he was in those other games,” said Coach Nilles. “But I gotta give our hitters credit, they caught barrels.”
What seemed to break the game open for Santa Ana was a home run from Williams to take the lead in the second.
“He ambushed me with all off-speed pitches in my first at bat, so I knew I was gonna get something slow,” said Williams. “I saw the curveball out of his hand, and right off the bat, I knew it was gone.”
Santa Ana smelled blood in the water as they tallied extra base hits, resulting in a 5-1 lead early.
The Tigers would claw their way back into the game, one run at a time, before amassing a 7-5 lead in the eighth.
Both teams were 8-1 in OEC play coming in and knew this series would be a major tipping point for the coveted conference title.
Although Santa Ana won the first game in the series, they couldn’t be complacent, knowing that if they lost this game, the series-deciding game three would go back to Riverside.
A pair of sacrifice flies from Aiden Marquez and Ben Melendrez would be the tying runs before the walk-off hit in the ninth.
As the Gatorade shower ensued, Riverside’s players didn’t take well to the celebration, as tempers flared with coaches separating the teams as words were exchanged.
“Our guys love to get loud and rowdy, and when we do that, we play our best honestly,” said Paoletto. “Both sides are competitive teams. So there’s gonna be a lot of emotion during these games.”
With the series in hand, the Dons would also take game three of the series in Riverside, solidifying the top spot in the OEC and extending their winning streak to 13.
“One game at a time,” said Coach Nilles, on how to keep the hot streak running. “Just put your horses out there and let them run, try to stay out of the way.”
They will now face off against the Cypress Chargers in a three-game series, starting on Tuesday at 2 p.m., with a chance to clinch the conference title with a sweep.
