Dons Avenge Early Loss with 11-6 Win over Palomar

After being shut out and held to just seven hits in their season opening loss to Palomar College, the Dons bounced back with an 11-6 win over the Comets while pounding out 17 hits.

The Dons (8-2) jumped out early with a pair of runs on doubles by Andy Peterson and Konnor Armijo. JB Bryant and Peterson each scored in the inning.

Adrian Garcia put the Dons up 3-0 in the second inning when he singled through the left side before eventually coming around to score on Blake Walker's RBI-single to centerfield.

The Comets (3-7) took advantage of a pair of Dons errors to tie the game at 3-3 in the third inning. All three runs crossed home plate despite starting pitcher Garrett Wilson retiring the first two batters of the inning.

The Dons reclaimed the lead at 4-3 in the bottom of the third inning when Armijo scored on Brandon Baxter's bunt-single down the third base line. That lead wouldn't last long as Palomar scored in the fourth inning to tie the game at 4-4.

The game swung in the favor of the home team in the bottom of the fourth inning as the Dons scored six runs, all unearned, to establish a 10-4 lead. Trevor Magno started the inning with a lead-off walk before Blake Walker reached third on an error, allowing Magno to score and break the tie.

The Dons next two batters were retired, with the second out being a sacrifice fly by Peterson that scored Walker to put the Dons up 6-4. Tyler Madrid then drew a walk before Armijo singled.

After Dylan Jones walked to load the bases, Baxter hit a two-run single that scored Madrid and Armijo to extend the Dons lead to 8-4. Magno capped off the damage with a two-run single to score Jones and Baxter, making the score 10-4.

The Comets final two runs came in the sixth and ninth innings with the Dons final run coming across in the sixth inning. Jones led the sixth off with an infield single before eventually scoring on a RBI-groundout by Magno.

Wilson improved to 3-0 on the season after allowing five runs, three earned, on 12 hits over six innings pitched. Julian Esquibel (1-2), who was the winning pitcher in the first game, suffered the loss after allowing seven runs, four earned, on eight hits in 3.2 innings pitched.