Clay ArrittAfter the Dons couldn’t get the final three outs before blowing a five-run lead, freshman second-baseman Halii Dudoit would dig in with the winning run on second base.
He was asked to get a bunt down, and he did his job masterfully. Sophomore shortstop Jack Mueller would break to third base as the catcher fielded the bunt and threw wildly to third, allowing Mueller to score the winning run.
The Dons’ celebration would ensue into the outfield grass, as Dudoit would complete a celebratory backflip.
It’s been the best season in team history thus far for Santa Ana with a .905 winning percentage, which continued with this 10-9 walk-off victory over the Irvine Valley Lasers on Saturday afternoon in a nearly four-hour affair.
Santa Ana was up 9-4 headed into the 9th inning before five runs came across against two different relievers. Sophomore Bruno Banuelos was able to get the final out via strikeout with two men on base, however.
Mueller would lead off the bottom of the ninth inning with a double before Dudoit, who came in as a defensive replacement, would be the next hitter.
Dudoit replaced Aiden Marquez, who had four hits, including five runs-batted-in, two home runs and a double in the game.
“[Dudoit] has sat there and waited his turn to make a contribution,” head coach Tom Nilles said. “And there may be no bigger contribution on the year. To get to where you can say you’re a champion in the OEC. So fantastic for that guy.”
This opportunity was only the 17th plate appearance of the season for the freshman infielder.
“Stepping up into the box, I knew I was going to bunt something,” Dudoit said. “I felt like I was ready to do the job. It was good enough to move a runner over and they end up throwing it away, and that’s how we win it.” The win improves the Dons’ overall record to 33-3-1 on the season.
With the victory, the Dons clinched co-champions of the Orange Empire Conference for the first time since 2014. With a single victory next week, the Dons will be undisputed champions of the conference. “I’m not a big fan of sharing,” Coach Nilles said. “We’ve played championship-level baseball. So, testament to these guys.”
Banuelos would end up being the winning pitcher, earning his first victory of the season. “No win is easy in the OEC,” Banuelos said. “I knew I had a job to do to get out of the inning and send it to the bottom of the ninth.”
It was another hot start for Santa Ana, as two hitters into the game, Marquez hit his first two-run homer. “They’re throwing a lot of heaters,” Marquez explained. “I just wanted to hit something hard.”
Two hitters later, sophomore designated-hitter Barrett Ronson hit his eighth home run of the season to make it 3-0, and a single from sophomore first-baseman Ben Melendrez would add a fourth run.
“When you have the opportunity to get up on a team early, it allows you to play a little bit more freely,” Coach Nilles said. “You can be aggressive, you can afford an out or two on the bases. So starting hot has been big.”
For the second straight outing, freshman starting pitcher Zach Ireland would have to warm up in the bullpen after throwing a scoreless inning because of an explosive first inning for the Dons.
“Instantly, it almost feels like you have to take your foot off the gas,” Ireland said. “That’s something I need to work on. It’s easy to get lackadaisical when you know you’re going to score 10 runs a game. So as a staff, we can do a better job at staying engaged throughout the entire game.”
After Santa Ana had scoreless second and third innings offensively, Melendrez was able to break that dry spell with his eighth home run of the season to make it 5-1, tying Ronson for the team lead. “I knew he was going to come with the fastball, so I was ready for it and just didn’t miss it,” Melendrez said.
The Lasers scratched their way back into a 5-4 game, going to the bottom of the sixth, when Marquez stepped up with a man on again. On the first pitch, he launched a no doubt shot over the left field fence for his second two-run homer of the game to make it 7-4, flipping his bat toward the Santa Ana dugout in the process.
“When you have nine guys in your lineup, and any swing can change the complexion of a game,” Coach Nilles said. “It changes how you got to coach, how you pitch. It makes your offense believe that no matter what the situation, you can always get right back into a game.” All nine players in the starting lineup got a base hit for the Dons on Saturday.
The vibes are high in the Santa Ana dugout heading into their final series of the regular season before their quest for a state championship begins. “We’re at an all-time high right now,” Banuelos said. “We just keep doing what we’ve been doing. We’ve been hitting, we’ve been pitching. We had a little shake in the ninth, but we’re gonna get back on it Monday and get ready for the playoffs.”
The last series of the regular season begins Tuesday at 2 p.m. at Don Sneddon Field against Golden West.
