Early Offense and Gutsy Pitching Helps Dons Defeat Ohlone 10-4 on Day One
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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4 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 14 | 0 |
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0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 4 |
IRVINE, Calif. - Thanks to early offense and strong pitching performances from Andrew Phillips and Johnny Morales, the Santa Ana College Baseball team defeated the Ohlone Renegades (40-9) by a score of 10-4 on day one of the 3C2A State Championships.
In the first inning, Evan Reiter put the Dons (41-6-1) on the scoreboard with a double down the left field line to score Jack Mueller.
Just a couple batters later, Nikko Paoletto hammered a ball to right centerfield and watched it keep carrying over the wall for a three-run homer.
Santa continued to add on as they posted two more in the third followed by a solo shot from Mueller and an RBI single from Ken Tomitaka to give themselves a 9-0 lead in the fourth.
Ohlone answered with their own rally in the bottom of the fourth as they put up a four-spot to cut the deficit to five (9-4). But Phillips was able to settle down to hold them scoreless in the next inning before Morales entered and dominated the rest of the way.
Phillips picked up his ninth win of the season as he threw a solid five innings. Morales was electric out of the bullpen, striking out eight in four innings of work to earn his second consecutive 3+ innings save.
SAC will now face a Palomar team that beat Feather River 6-2 in their tournament opener. The game is set for 2:00 p.m. on Sunday at Irvine Great Park. The winner will advance to championship Monday while the loser plays 45 minutes following the game.
