Season ends with loss at OCC

   Down three runs, pinch hitter Taylor Martin stepped up to the plate as the possible tying run for Santa Ana. Her at-bat was the last chance to end the softball season on a high note after a 9-0 shutout loss to Riverside College in the previous game. 
   Martin connected, only to see her pop fly land right into the glove of Orange Coast College’s Summer Comstock, ending the Dons’ season with a 5-2 loss April 21.
   The loss marks the first time the Dons fell to OCC in more than six years.
   “Their pitcher did a great job of keeping our hitters off balance as well as getting ahead of batters,” Dons’ Head Coach Jessica Rapoza said. “We simply didn’t hit.”
   Santa Ana recorded six hits in the losing effort with third baseman Sarah Singh and center fielder Nicole Warnick leading with two hits apiece. 
   In the fifth inning, it was Singh’s two RBI double to right-center field and two Pirates’ errors that got the Dons on the board.
   OCC’s damage was done in the fourth inning sparked by Comstock’s leadoff home run. Two more runs scored off second baseman Alexandra Brewster’s RBI single.
   The Dons had an up and down season, finishing with a 17-20-1 overall record and a conference record of 9-12.
   Their streaky season included shutout games by the defense or high hitting, lopsided scores on offense. But once it seemed like the team hit their stride, they would be set back by a string of losses.
   “I believe our streakiness was due, in large part, to our lack of experience at the college level,” Rapoza said.
   The season began with an abundance of new faces on the team. Out of the 18 players on the roster, 15 were freshman. 
   The 2010 season also brought new coaching as Rapoza took over as head coach after spending three years on the coaching staff at Santiago Canyon College.
   Despite finishing fifth in conference, Rapoza saw the year with her team as an unforgettable experience.
   “I could have never asked for a better group of girls to begin this journey with and they will forever be special to me,” Rapoza said.