The Dons seemed poised to force a third game but Karina Romero ended the series with her two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to advance Desert to the Super Regionals.
The game began as a pitcher's duel before both's team's bats came alive in the fourth inning. But in the end, it was Desert who came out ahead with an 8-4 win in the first game of the playoff series.
After finishing fourth in the Orange Empire Conference, the Dons 26-14 overall record placed them eighth in the CCCAA Southern California Softball Regional Playoffs.
With nine runs on six hits in the fourth inning, the Dons invoked the run-rule for the second-straight game as they beat Orange Coast College 11-3 in five innings.
Behind a solid pitching performance from Devon Rodriguez and a well-balanced offensive attack, the Dons snapped their two-game losing streak with the run-rule win over Fullerton College.
Sabrina Perez tried to power the Dons to victory with a pair of home runs but it wasn't enough as the Gauchos grabbed their second win over the Dons this season.
Alyssa Yglesias' RBI-double in the fifth gave the Dons the go-ahead run in their 5-1 victory over visiting Cerritos College. Chantal Oelrich got the win on the mound for SAC.
Two big innings by San Diego Mesa gave the Dons their first loss of the season. The Dons offense struggled just as much, getting just two hits in the game.
Devon Rodriguez was nearly unhittable as she allowed just two hits and four base runners to open the season and Alyssa Yglesias knocked in the final run for her second RBI of the game.