Dons lose to Cuesta in Super Regionals

   Freshman pitcher Marcus Garrett made his second start of the year for the Dons in the most crucial game of the season.
   Little did he know his inexperience would cost the Dons a return to the CCCAA State Championships. 
   In a win-or-go-home game against Cuesta College, Garrett was torched for six runs on seven hits in his short 2.1 inning appearance.  
   Despite a late rally, Santa Ana would fall 11-10 to the No. 16 ranked Cougars at home May 15. 
   With the loss, Santa Ana, the No. 1 ranked team in the state, was eliminated from the CCCAA Baseball Southern Super Regional Championships. 
   The defeat gave the Dons their second loss in the double-elimination format tournament having lost to No. 9 ranked Rio Hondo 4-2 earlier that day. 
   Santa Ana’s early outing marks the third time in the last four years the Dons fall in the Super Regional’s as the No. 1 seed. 
   Playing in memory of the late James Wernke, who was found dead in Fullerton last December in an apparent drowning, Santa Ana’s season ended with a 31-10 record. 
   The Dons finished with a .336 team batting average hitting 50 homeruns and 327 RBIs. 
   Julian Duran, the OEC Player of the Year, finished with a .441 batting average. Christian Meza, the OEC Pitcher of the Year, finished 10-1 with a 3.30 earned run average and Head Coach Don Sneddon earned his 15th OEC Coach of the year award. 
   This was the fourth straight year the Dons clinched the OEC championship.