SANTA ANA COLLEGE el Don/eldonnews.org • MONDAY, MARCH 13, 2017
SPORTS 11
BEACH VOLLEYBALL
Bittersweet
The Dons No.1 beach volleyball team
led by Mikelle Taylor and Viridiana Ser-
rano fought hard against the No. 2 Rio
Hondo Roadrunners and the Glendale
Vaqueros Friday, March 3 at Hunting-
ton Beach.
Taylor and Serrano’s first match of the
day was played against the Roadrun-
ners in best of three sets, losing 21-19
in the first set and 21-17 in the second.
“We played the No. 2 team in the state
and we almost had them, so that’s frus-
trating,” Serrano said.
The Dons No. 4 team with Filana Du-
van and Dayne Bogosian were the only
players to beat a Rio Hondo pair, win-
ning the first set 22-20 and taking the
second set 21-15.
In Taylor and Serrano’s second match
the pair played the Glendale College
Vaqueros and won two consecutive
sets 21-4 and 21-18.
“In our second match we felt a lot
more in control, talked more, and felt a
lot more disciplined,” Taylor said.
Head coach Troy Abbey said that Tay-
lor and Serrano were his best players
during the indoor season and that they
didn’t play to their full potential. He ex-
pects that they will play better during
the weeks ahead.
— Julian Wallace
CLUTCH / DH Bryan Leef (26) singled and drove in two runs in the Dons March 4 win over the COC Cougars. / Ruby Nuñez / el Don
SAC BASEBALL 2017 / BY JASON MARTINEZ
DONS DEFEAT COUGARS TWICE
No. 3 Santa Ana College Dons baseball team beat No. 15
College of the Canyons Cougars, 19-13, March 4, sweeping the
two-game series and extending its overall record to 14-2.
With the win the Dons kept its five-game winning streak
alive, while improving its home record to (7-0).
Santa Ana started off strong, scoring
three runs in the bottom of the first
inning.
Both teams traded leads throughout
the game, but the Dons prevailed with
an eight-run, eighth inning rally.
Cougars coach Chris Cota praised the
Dons overall performance.
“I thought it was a good game. Both
teams were down and came back,
and it was a real competitive game up
until the eighth inning when Santa
Ana started their rally,” Cota said.
DONS WIN 6-5 MARCH 2
Two days earlier College of the Can-
yons took a two-run lead into the
seventh inning but let SAC rally to win
6-5 at Cougar Field.
Canyons (7-7) got to Dons starting
pitcher Guillermo Sanchez early, scor-
ing runs in the first two innings. Santa
Ana right-hander Sanchez gave up a
three-run home run in the fourth to
give the Cougars a 5-2 lead.
Sanchez lasted three and 2/3 innings,
giving up five runs, four earned, on
seven hits. He entered the game having
allowed just one earned run in his first
28 innings of work.
Santa Ana (13-2) also had some early
success against COC starter Justin
Dehn, who gave up a two-run home
run in the first inning but otherwise
was in control against the Dons’ lineup.
Dehn ended his day after giving up
five runs, but only earned two, in six
and 1/3 innings on the mound. The
sophomore struck out six batters and
issued one walk in the no decision.
The Dons scored three unearned
runs, including two in the top of the
seventh, to tie the game at 5-5. The
Dons scored again in the eighth to
secure the victory.
Errors were a big part of the game
as the Cougars committed four errors,
assisting in Santa Ana’s comeback.
Dons reliever Austin Weddle (1-
0) got the win, and Gabe Armstrong
earned the save for Santa Ana.