Santa Ana advances to 3C2A Baseball Championship game with victory over Saddleback
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Saddleback
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 6 |
|
Santa Ana
|
0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | X | 13 | 12 | 1 |
CCCAA State Championship
Bracket l Tickets l Tournament Central
FOLSOM - The Santa Ana College Dons have officially punched their ticket to the big-big dance after Sunday afternoon's 13-4 win over Orange Empire Conference neighbor and foe, Saddleback College in the championship semifinal of the California Community College Athletic Association Baseball State Championship, hosted by Folsom Lake College.
The Dons (35-15) took advantage of several Bobcat miscues and used their defense to drum up four key double plays to earn their spot in Monday's state championship, which will take place at 11 a.m. against the winner of tonight's "Game 5" between Saddleback and Sierra.
Christian Thompson led the Dons at the plate, going 3-for-5 with two runs and two RBI, while teammate Mikey Rocha blew the game open with a grand slam in the bottom of the eighth to highlight SAC's 7-run frame that left no doubt on the outcome.
For the Bobcats (37-12), J.C. Allen went 2-for-3 with two runs and three RBI, while Michael Davinni and Cole Koniarsky each added two hits in Saddleback's 10-hit performance.
SAC reliever Rocco Gurrola (5-0) continued his fine work at the State Final Four, picking up the win after throwing the final 4 2/3 innings, allowing just two runs on four hits. Will Girardi (4-2) took the loss after allowing four runs on eight hits over the first five innings.
With the game still in jeopardy the bottom of the eighth, Santa Ana used three Saddleback errors and a erratic bullpen and manufactured seven runs on just two hits, with Rocha's four-run big fly the deal-clincher for the Dons.
(Tony Altobelli, CCCSIA)
