Ninth Inning Rally Gives Dons 6-5 Win over Palomar College
Trailing 5-3 to start the ninth inning, the Dons got three runs on two hits, including the game-winning single by Daniel Martinez that scored Philip Anderson.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 11 | 2 |
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0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 4 |
SANTA ANA - For 26 outs, the game seemed to be controlled by the visiting Palomar College Comets. But the 27th out never came as the Dons scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth to defeat Palomar 6-5 in a non-conference game.
The Dons (6-1), trailing 5-3 going into the ninth, started their rally with a leadoff walk by Cameron Baranek. But the rally quickly seemed to be in doubt as a groundout and strikeout put the Comets one out away from victory.
But then Joshua Vargas drew a walk before Philip Anderson singled in Baranek to pull the Dons within one at 5-4. Ryan Aguilar followed with a walk to load the bases before Cesar Serna was hit by a pitch to force in the game-tying run.
The rally was capped off by a single through the right side by Daniel Martinez, Jr. that scored Anderson from third base, sealing the come-from-behind victory.
The Comets (2-6) had a lead as large as 5-2 going into the eighth inning with a pair of runs in the third inning before scoring one run apiece in the fourth, seventh and eighth innings respectively. The Dons runs, prior to their rally, came in the second, seventh and eighth innings.
A.J. Franks (1-0) picked up his first win of the season as he pitched the final 1.2 innings without allowing a run. Tyler Sloan started the game for the Dons but didn't factor into the decision. Sloan left the game in the fourth inning after allowing three runs, two earned, on five hits in 3.1 innings of work.
For Palomar, Taylor Miller (1-1) took the loss as he allowed both the game-tying and winning runs to reach base in just .2 innings of work. The Comets starter, Jake Barnett got the no-decision after pitching well for seven innings. Barnett allowed just two runs on four hits with five strikeouts.
