Avila Executes Late as Dons get Walk-Off Win Over Saddleback
Santa Ana earned a 4-3 walk-off win over Saddleback in Orange Empire Conference play on Monday afternoon.
| Final (8) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | R | H | E |
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0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 2 |
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0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 1 |
SANTA ANA, Calif. - SAC Softball defeated the Saddleback Bobcats (13-17, 3-12) in walk-off fashion as Mel Avila executed a squeeze bunt to bring home Sierra Griego in the eighth inning of Monday's Orange Empire Conference contest.
The Dons (13-19, 9-8) managed to fight off the Bobcats after seeing their early lead dwindle, leading to extra innings.
Santa Ana struck first in the second inning when Nyah Veals singled up the middle with two outs to drive home Avila. They added to their lead with two runs in the third on a Saddleback error and another well executed squeeze by Griego.
But the Bobcats would not go down easy, scoring two in the fifth and following with the game tying run in the sixth.
SAC got back to playing solid defense in the final two innings as they held the Bobcats scoreless to secure the win.
In the bottom of the eighth, Griego singled and stole a bag before Brittany Van Sickle moved her over to third with a groundout to shortstop. Avila got the job done with a perfect bunt to allow Griego to sneak into home plate.
Ale Guzman had another quality start in the circle as she went five innings while allowing just two unearned runs. Katie Neal earned her 11th win of the season after going the final three innings of the game and conceding just one run in the outing.
The Dons (13-19, 9-8) picked up a crucial win as they try to stay in contention for the regional playoffs. SAC now sits at 18th in the South in RPI with 24 teams set to make the playoffs.
Santa Ana has a quick turnaround as they are set to host LA Mission in a doubleheader on Tuesday afternoon. Game times will be at 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m.
