Costly errors doom Dons

   Dons' freshman pitcher Sean Slettvet entered the game in the eighth inning with Santa Ana up by one run. After drawing two walks and capitalizing on two Dons' errors, Santa Barbara took the lead.

   The Vaqueros held on for the 11-9 win, handing Santa Ana its second consecutive loss on Feb. 26.

   Slettvet walked Santa Barbara's Zach Pecyna to lead off the inning. Pecyna reached third on Slettvet's throwing error during the following at-bat, and then scored on Danny Cavaletto's sacrifice bunt to tie the game 9-9.

   A second walk and another fielding error later, two more unearned runs crossed the plate.

   Although Slettvet didn't allow any hits, the Vaqueros did enough to capitalize on the young pitcher's mistakes to go on top.

   "Disappointed, just completely disappointed that we didn't do very well," said Head Coach Don Sneddon. "We got nine runs. That should be enough to win."

   Coming from behind became a theme for Santa Ana. The Dons found themselves down early when starting pitcher R.J. Hively gave up three runs in the first inning. Through five innings, Hively allowed four more runs, putting the Dons in a 7-5 hole.

   Hively was pulled after allowing five earned runs, seven overall.

   "R.J. didn't pitch well today, but he is a good pitcher," Sneddon said.

   Santa Ana was able to cobble together some runs thanks to center fielder Gary Apelian's three-run double in the second inning. The six-foot-four Apelian drove in four runs to give him a team high 13 RBIs.

   In the sixth inning, catcher Danny Recio's single through the right side drove in two runs to put the Dons ahead, 9-7.

   After Slettvet's bad outing, Santa Ana's offense sputtered in the final three innings, managing a walk but no hits.

   The Dons are averaging 8.57 runs per game but have committed a total of 23 errors in seven games this season.

   In the end, three key errors and five unearned runs gave the Vaqueros their sixth win this season.

   "I think we got a little too confident. These last two games brought us to reality," Recio said.

   The Dons visit Golden West College tomorrow.