Apelian leads offensive assault in 12-7 victory over Saddleback

   Dons' right fielder Gary Apelian stepped up to the plate in the fifth inning with his team holding on to a tight lead. He stared the pitcher down, then delivered a three-run home run to put the game away, giving Santa Ana a 12-7 win over visiting Saddleback College.

   The three-run shot was a part of the Dons' five-run fifth inning March 20. 

   Apelian has been one of the Dons' best players on offense. His .429 batting average and 13 RBIs in the month of February earned him an Honorable Mention Athlete of the Month from the California Community College Sports Information Association.

   In the seventh inning, outfielder Taylor Richardson finished the offensive assault when he crushed the first pitch into the left-center field scoreboard.

   Richardson, the team's leading hitter, was an offensive force with just a triple shy of the cycle. He went 3-4 with a home run, three RBIs and three runs scored.   

  "I just saw the hanging curveball and knew right away it was gone," Richardson said.

   Pitcher Nicholas Perez was awarded the win over the Gauchos, sending him to a perfect 3-0 on the season. Perez, who leads the team with a 3.32 ERA, pitched 3.1 innings of relief, allowing five hits and two earned runs.

   Starting pitcher Ben Burke was pulled after giving up five runs, four of those earned, on four hits and four walks in 4.2 innings pitched.

   With the win, the Dons sweep the three-game series against the Gauchos outscoring them a combined 43 runs to 26.

   "I'm proud of when they scored runs, we came back with runs," said Assistant Coach John Bryant. "Any time you can get a win in this conference, you've got to take it."

   An altercation in the first inning at second base between Dons' catcher David Peterson and Saddleback second baseman Sean Parvin resulted in both Parvin's ejection and a spark to the Dons' offense. Santa Ana opened the inning with five runs to put them up 5-2. They maintained the lead the rest of the game.

   "I kind of slid into his glove and didn't take my foot off because I wanted to keep my foot on the base," said Peterson. "He pushed me off second base and said a few things that he shouldn't have said."

   Peterson added three hits and two runs of his own. Shortstop T.J. Yasuhara also had a strong day adding four hits, three RBIs and three stolen bases.

   "That's the thing about our line-up. Just because someone doesn't have a hot day, we have someone else to step up," Richardson said.

   Next, the Dons welcome East L.A. College, Tuesday at 2 p.m.

   Hugo Pacheco contributed to this story.