Dons Strike Early, Often in Beating Pierce, 19-4

Santa Ana scored 16 runs in the first three innings Friday and went on to a 19-4 victory over Los Angeles Pierce in the second round of the Southern California Regional baseball playoffs at Santa Ana College.

The top-seeded Dons, who have won three state titles, will host East Los Angeles in the double-elimination tournament today at 11 a.m., with the winner advancing to Sunday’s championship games. The regional winner earns a spot in the state tournament.

The Dons, who have lost one home game all season, fell behind early when Pierce took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on Nick Browne’s 14th home run.

But it didn’t take Santa Ana (35-7-1) long to come back. The Dons scored a run in the bottom of the first, then rallied for eight in the second.

“It doesn’t really bother us when we get down,” said shortstop Tony Calderon. “We know we’re going to come back. We know we have the guys to do it.”

Calderon was one of those guys. He had three hits, was hit by a pitch, drove in six runs and scored three.

The Dons sent 12 batters to the plate in both the second and third innings, scoring a total of 15 runs on nine hits.

Santa Ana’s offense couldn’t take all the credit. Three errors, five walks and a hit batter helped the Dons along.

“We didn’t do things we should do,” Pierce Coach Bob Lafrano said. “We didn’t throw strikes, we didn’t field the ball and we didn’t hit.”

The Dons didn’t get overconfident with a big lead; they know what it feels like to lose one. Earlier this month the Dons lost a 16-run lead to East L.A. And they are expecting a tough battle in today’s game against the Huskies.

“We didn’t expect a game like that today in the playoffs,” Santa Ana Coach Don Sneddon said. “But we’ll go after tomorrow’s game the same way. We don’t change a thing.”