Danny De La Cruz PenaAfter nine innings of intense baseball, the Dons fell short against Orange Coast College 4-10 on Tuesday, March 7.
Pitcher Brady Ashworth was dominating OCC, keeping them scoreless through five innings, and picking off two runners on first base as well.
Santa Ana got on the board first with a solo home run from Catcher Sebastian Moore, in the bottom of the fourth inning.
The Dons added to their lead in the fifth inning on an RBI double from freshman Mikey Rocha, scoring infielder Thomas Williams.
Dons lost the lead in the top of the sixth inning after OCC rallied to score four runs on two hits.
The Dons came back and tied the game with a two-run home run from designated hitter Troy Kent in the sixth inning.
“I knew the pitcher was throwing fastballs all day, so I was sitting fastball,” said Kent.
In the top of the sixth inning, Ashworth was taken out of the game, and pitcher CJ Brown came in to relief.
However, in the eighth inning, OCC scored two runs to take the lead. They added four more in the ninth inning to extend their lead. The Dons were unable to respond during the bottom of the ninth and the game concluded with the Pirates on top.
“They’re a good team, this whole conference is a bunch of great teams, it was a tough loss but no doubt we’ll bounce back,” said Kent.
OCC hands the Dons their first loss of the conference season. While it was not the result Santa Ana was looking for, the team isn’t discouraged looking forward to the rest of the conference and season.
”There’s going to be nerves, everyone is going to be nervous, it’s the first game of the conference. We’ve seen what this team is capable of, and what this team is like, and how they play,” says first-year assistant, coach Nate Cachu. ”All we need to do is come out, and be ready to go the next game.”
Santa Ana’s record sits at 10-7 with the loss. They look to bounce back on Thursday, March 9th when they face off again against Orange Coast College.
