SANTA ANA, Calif. - Chase Hennessey struck out 10 on the way to his third win of the season as the No. 3 ranked Santa Ana Baseball team defeated No. 22 Golden West 8-6 in the first of a three game series on Tuesday afternoon.

The right hander from Marina High now leads the Dons in innings pitched (45) and strikeouts (54) while holding an ERA of 2.80.

SAC found themselves down 4-1 following a rally from the Rustlers in the fourth inning. But they slowly cut into the lead with runs in the second and third before taking the lead back with two in the fifth. 

Austin Haller hit an RBI single up the middle and was followed by SAC fly to right by Sebastian McSherry. 

The Dons stayed in the fifth, scoring three more on a couple singles from Thomas Williams and Kyle Ashworth. 

Hennessey held Golden West scoreless from the third through the sixth inning to allow the Dons to regain the momentum. He was finally knocked out of the game when the Rustlers scored two in the top of the seventh. 

Emmanuel Niebla and Matt Schavone came out of the bullpen and kept the lead intact for Cedrick Perez, who earned his third save of the season. 

As a pitching staff, the Dons posted a season high 15 strikeouts to lead the team to a much needed win. 

Golden West will host game two on Thursday, March 24th at 2:00 p.m.