SANTA ANA, CA- Cypress Chargers baseball (9-8, 1-0 OEC) began Orange Empire Conference (OEC) play on Tuesday afternoon. The Chargers had a tough matchup to begin the season as they hit the road to face the #1 Santa Ana Dons (15-2, 0-1 OEC). Cypress has struggled out of the gates this season, but with an 11-5 upset victory on Tuesday the Chargers may have earned the spark they needed to perform in the very competitive Orange Empire Conference. 

The long ball was the story of the afternoon for Cypress as they launched three home runs led by catcher, Mario Tostado. Tostado (4-for-5, 2B) had a huge afternoon driving in two runs on his two solo home runs. Dean Toigo (2-for-3) hit a three-run shot to right field scoring three-runs and adding to the scoring barrage from Cypress. Eddie Hacopian (2-for-6) was the lead-off batter for Cypress totaling 3 RBI's and a double. Third baseman, Cade Liefer (2 RBI) went 2-for-4 with a double to chip-in on the Cypress scoring. 

Andrew Kotin got the start on the mound throwing 3.1 innings, allowing 3 hits and 2 runs. Kotin was relieved by Sebastian Diaz who struck out 5 batters over his 3.2 innings pitched. Diaz allowed 3 runs (2 earned), but that would be all the scoring for the Dons on the afternoon. Travis Lavendier and Logan Groff each threw one shutout inning as the Chargers led for the entirety of the game. The dominating performance would net the Chargers an 11-3 victory. 

UP NEXT: Cypress and Santa Ana will continue their three game series on Thursday, March 10th, at Cypress College. First pitch will be at 2pm on Thursday with the series finale scheduled for 12pm Saturday at Santa College. 

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