SANTA ANA, Calif. – No. 13 SAC softball bounced back from a tough loss on Wednesday by defeating the Saddleback Gauchos 6-3 in another Orange Empire Conference matchup on Thursday afternoon.
The Dons seemed to be affected by the gloomy weather, as they came out sluggish early on and found themselves in a 3-0 deficit after Gauchos put together a three hit, three run second inning.
In the bottom half of the inning, Santa Ana got a boost from the bottom half of its lineup, as Brandi Kirkpatrick stepped up in the six spot with a leadoff double to left center field. A few batters later, Makayla Peralta singled to left field to score Kirkpatrick for the Dons first run of the game.
Santa Ana went on to score five more runs in the inning on RBI singles from Jeana Gonzales and Drea DeFord as well as a wild pitch and a hit by pitch for runs.
With the score at 6-3, neither team was able to get their bats going following the second inning, giving the Dons their 16th win of the season.
UP NEXT
Santa Ana will get some rest over the weekend and prepare to host the No. 2 ranked Cypress Chargers (19-2, 10-0) on Monday in a crucial OEC showdown. First pitch is set for 3:00 p.m.
