14 SPORTS
SANTA ANA COLLEGE el Don/eldonnews.org • MONDAY, MAY 22, 2017
DIVISION 1
Pitchers
Dons starting pitchers Guillermo
Sanchez and Nigel Ward are headed
to NCAA Division I schools.
Sanchez committed to the Univer-
sity of Texas Rio Grande Valley. He
finished the 2017 season with a 7-3
record, 79 strikeouts, two complete
games and a 3.0 ERA.
The Texas Rio Grande Valley Vaque-
ros compete in the Western Athletic
Conference and are 26-25 overall this
season with a 7-14 record in confer-
ence play.
Freshman pitcher Nigel Ward is
headed to the University of San Di-
ego. The 6-foot-2 right-hander went
7-6 this season with 73 strikeouts, two
saves and a 3.33 ERA. Ward earned
All-Orange Empire Conference Sec-
ond Team honors.
The San Diego Toreros are a part of
the West Coast Conference and boast
a record of 32-18-1 overall, and 15-10
in conference.
Sanchez and Ward join a long list
of Dons who have competed at the
NCAA Division I level with the most
recent being Patrick Cromwell, who is
playing for the University of Clemson.
— Cammie Lewis
WINNER / SAC freshman Nigel Ward received All-Orange Empire Conference Second Team honors for the Dons. / Carlos Duarte / el Don
PIRATES MAKE DONS WALK THE PLANK
SAC COMES UP SHORT IN THREE-GAME SERIES, LOSES PLAYOFF SUPER REGIONAL 2-1
BY RUBY NUÑEZ / el Don
Despite winning the fi rst game of the
state Super Regionals versus Orange Coast
College 3-1 Friday, May 12, the No. 14
ranked Dons dropped the next two games
against the No.1 Pirates, ending its season.
In game one, Santa Ana started off
strong by scoring 2 RBI in the top of
the fi rst inning. Sophomore Julio Rivera
tripled to left center driving in freshman
Erick Leef, who had singled earlier in the
inning. Next, freshman Nathan Flores hit
a single to right fi eld, driving in Rivera,
making it 2-0.
Dons sophomore Guillermo Sanchez
had a stellar pitching performance,
playing the entire nine innings, striking
out eight and only allowing one run in
the bottom of the third. Sanchez found
himself in a few tough situations through-
out the game but was able to pitch his way
out of them.
“Guillermo dominated the lineup, he
played well during the fi rst game,” Coach
Tom Nilles said.
However, it took a turn for the worse
during game two where the Dons lost 5-1
against OCC. Th e Dons struggled to stay
afl oat, unable to score until the bottom of
the last inning when freshman Juan Gon-
zalez hit a single to left fi eld and brought
in sophomore Justin Mellano for the only
RBI of the game.
Th e momentum for the Pirates contin-
ued as they were up 5-0 in the fi rst four
innings of the elimination game.
Th e Dons didn’t give up the win easily.
Th ey came back fi ghting, scoring 4 RBI
during the 5th inning. Th ey ultimately lost
to the Pirates 9-4, ending the season with
an overall record of 29-17 and a confer-
ence record of 10-11.
“I’m proud of my guys, we played good
baseball but came up short,” Nilles said.
“Th e success of this program begins with
these guys that have paved the way for the HIT MAN / Dons freshman Erick Leef battles
Pirate pitching. / Carlos Duarte / el Don
coming seasons.”