SANTA ANA - The Dons opened their final Orange Empire Conference series of the season with a balanced 11-1 win over Orange Coast College. The Dons (19-15, 6-13) scored 11 runs on 13 hits while getting a complete game from Andrew Hodges with zero errors on defense behind him.
Tommy Anderson got things going early as he started a three-run run first inning with a leadoff, solo home run on just the second pitch he saw. After Patrick Cromwell singled, Andrew Ramos reached on a fielder's choice to set up a two-run double by Jeff Murray that put the Dons up 3-0.
Colin Winn extended the lead to 4-0 in the third inning when he hit a leadoff triple before scoring on a RBI-single by Ramos. Two more runs came across in fifth inning with Murray doubling in Ramos before scoring on a RBI-single by Thomas Blood. In the sixth inning, Cromwell singled in Justin Mellano, who reached on a single, to put the Dons up 7-0.
Finally, in the eighth inning, the Dons added four unearned runs after Coast (16-18, 7-12) committed an error on what would have been the final out of the inning. Nathan Cervantes scored on the error before Ramos hit a three-run home run that scored Winn and Cromwell.
On the mound, Andrew Hodges (5-5) scattered six hits across nine innings while recording four strikeouts. The only blemish on his day was a solo home run by Chris Prescott in the seventh inning. Ryan Randel (3-2) took the loss for Orange Coast as he allowed four runs on six hits in three innings.