Santa Ana hurlers toss opening day no-hitter in win over Chaffey
SANTA ANA, Calif. – Santa Ana opened the 2018 baseball season by throwing a no-hitter against the Chaffey College Panthers on Saturday afternoon. The Dons used three pitchers on their way to a 4-0 shutout, improving to 1-0 this season.
Gabe Armstrong got the start for the Dons and went six innings untouched. He struck out six batters and walked one to earn his first win of the season.
In the seventh, Zachary Ryan took over in relief and gave Santa Ana two strong innings, recording four strikeouts and one walk. Cole Hoskins went in for the ninth to hold the Panthers to zero and secure the victory for the Dons.
At the plate, the Dons got started in the third inning when Erick Leef drove in William Meissner on an RBI single to right field. The following inning, Santa Ana put up three more runs on six hits to extend the lead to four runs. Jack Owens, Brian Cromwell and Ray Villanueva all contributed with one RBI each in the fourth inning.
The Dons will take the drive up to Rancho Cucamonga to face the Panthers again on Tuesday at 2 p.m.