Dons Surrender Early Lead before Falling 10-8 to LA Pierce College

Frankie Nogales singles in the eighth inning looking to spark a rally in the Dons 10-8 loss to LA Pierce College.
Frankie Nogales singles in the eighth inning looking to spark a rally in the Dons 10-8 loss to LA Pierce College.

SANTA ANA - After scoring five runs in the first inning, the Dons looked destined to cruise to victory at home against Los Angeles Pierce College. But the visiting Brahmas had other plans, using a five-run inning of their own to spark a 10-8 win over the Dons in a non-conference game.

After LA Pierce (4-2-1) scored in the top of the first, the Dons jumped out to a 5-1 lead highlighted by a three-run home run by Nestor Linares. Garret Brown singled in Ryan Aguilar for the Dons first run before Daniel Martinez, Jr. plated Brown with a sacrifice fly to account for SAC's other run.

But the Brahmas would come back with a five-run fifth inning to take a 6-5 lead before scoring again in the sixth to go up 7-5. After the Dons got one back in the bottom of the seventh on a RBI-double by Cesar Serna to cut the lead to 7-6, LA Pierce added three more runs in the eighth to take a 10-6 lead.

The Dons had one last push, scoring two runs in the eighth on an error and a sacrifice fly, but were unable to get any closer as the Brahmas closed out the game with back-to-back strikeouts.

George Avina (0-1) took the loss for the Dons as he allowed three runs on two hits without recording an out in the fifth inning. LA Pierce's Matt McKeever (1-0) picked up his first win of the season as he pitched 5.1 innings in relief while holding the Dons scoreless on just two hits. Pablo Gonzalez (2) was called upon to get the four-out save, holding the Dons to just one hit with a pair of strikeouts.