Dons Surrender Early Lead in 6-5 Loss to Mt. SAC

Hattie Marshall drove in three runs on this double during the Dons 6-5 loss to Mt. San Antonio College.
Hattie Marshall drove in three runs on this double during the Dons 6-5 loss to Mt. San Antonio College.

SANTA ANA - After scoring five runs, all aided by errors, in the first two innings, the Dons were held scoreless over the final five frames as Mt. San Antonio College rallied for a 6-5 win in a non-conference game. The loss drops the Dons to 3-4 on the season while Mt. SAC improves to 3-0.

The Mounties struck first with a pair of runs in the first inning to grab an early 2-0 lead. Both runs were scored on singles through the right side of the field. The Dons came back with an unearned run in the bottom of the first when Kasey Hutton scored from third on a throwing error when Madison Graham stole second base.

The Dons added four more unearned runs in the bottom of the second inning, highlighted by a bases-clearing double by Hattie Marshall. Christina McCullogh doubled in Marshall for the fourth run of the inning.

But that would be it for the Dons while Mt. SAC began to rally. The Mounties scored an unearned run in the third inning before Kayla Sok tied the game at 5-5 with a two-run home run in the fourth inning. The eventual game-winning run scored in the sixth inning when Sok scored from third on a wild pitch.

The Dons seemed poised to mount a rally of their own in the bottom of the seventh inning when Marshall hit a leadoff single and Karina Munoz reached on a one-out walk. But the Dons weren't able to get another baserunner on as the final two batters were retired on pop-ups.

Marshall (1-3) took the loss for the Dons as she allowed all six runs, five earned, on 11 hits in seven innings. Racqual Espinoza (1-0) picked up the win for the Mounties as she held the Dons scoreless on four hits over 4.2 innings of relief work. Tiffany Kennedy-Cummings (1) earned the save as she got the final two outs of the game without allowing a baserunner.