CYPRESS, CA- Charger baseball (23-11, 9-7 OEC) takes loss against Santa Ana Dons (23-12, 10-6 OEC) on Tuesday afternoon,
The Chargers and Dons began a three-game series at Cypress College in a battle for sole possession of the third seed in the OEC. Both clubs entered Tuesday's faceoff with a 9-6 record in a three-way tie with Orange Coast College.
Santa Ana came out with an aggressive offensive approach as they tallied three hits and three runs in the first frame. Cypress retaliated in the bottom half of the second with two no-doubt home runs. Dean Toigo left the park to right field to lead off the inning for the home team. Two at-bats later, Isaac Rodriguez smashed a ball over the tall left field wall to put the team within one run.
In the fourth, the Chargers gained their first lead of the day as they knocked out the Dons starting pitcher. Aggressive base running on a flyout put the tying run on third. A passed ball allowed Aaron Perez to knot it up at three apiece. With a two-out approach, Tanner Gerosa smacked a single to the right side with a runner on second. Rodriguez got the wave from the third base coach and head first dove into home to take the lead for Cypress.
After multiple long at-bats from the Dons, the visiting team pieced together three hits in the sixth inning. Three runners touched home in the frame to put Santa Ana back on top 4-6. When the seventh inning stretch finished, the Dons tallied an additional four runs in the top of the seventh to extend their lead. The visiting team continued to grow their lead in the eighth when they put two runs on the scoreboard.
The Chargers would go on to lose the first of the three-game series, 4-12. In the nine hole, Gerosa went 3-4 with an RBI hit. Rodriguez knocked two hits, scored twice and had a home run. Toigo left the park with his hit and also reached base from two walks. Evan Adolphus started the game with his four innings pitched and two strikeouts. Josh Landry, Logan Groff, Cesar Ortiz came in for relief. Andy Mike finished the game as he struck out two batters. The Chargers and the Dons will continue the series at Santa Ana and conclude with the third and final game at Cypress College.
UP NEXT: The Chargers will travel to Santa Ana for the second game on Thursday, April 20th. First pitch will be at 2pm.
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