Dons Walk in Go-Ahead Run to Defeat Long Beach 5-2

Daniel Garcia threw 7.1 innings and allowed just two runs in the Dons 5-2 win over Long Beach City College.
Daniel Garcia threw 7.1 innings and allowed just two runs in the Dons 5-2 win over Long Beach City College.

SANTA ANA - Behind a strong starting performance by Daniel Garcia and timely walks, the Dons defeated Long Beach City College 5-2 in a non-conference game. The win improves the Dons to 8-1 on the season while Long Beach falls to 4-5.

With the game tied at 2-2 in the bottom of the eighth, Andrew Ramos hit a one-out single through the right side to spark a late rally. Trevor Steinman and Justin Mellano then drew walks to load the bases before Tommy Anderson drew another walk to force Ramos in for the go-ahead run.

Steinman came around to score later on an error when Colin Winn reached on a fielder's choice before Mellano scored the final run on a RBI-groundout by Patrick Cromwell.

The late tie was set up by a two-run fifth inning by the Dons after Long Beach took a 2-0 lead with one run in the second inning and another run in the top of the fifth. The Dons two runs came in when Anderson scored on an error following a Winn double before Winn scored on a lineout by Chris Major.

On the mound, Garcia allowed just two runs on seven hits over 7.1 innings of work but didn't factor into the decision as he left with the game tied. Andrew Hodges (3-0) held Long Beach hitless over the final 1.2 innings to pick up the win. Jay Rohman (0-1) took the loss for Long Beach after allowing two runs on one hit while recording just one out.