The Hornets struggle to find pitching and defensive consistency in a 22-6 loss to the Dons. Fullerton was coming off a series win against Cypress two weeks ago. Their counterparts, Santa Ana was on an eight-game winning streak, which included a 15-4 opening series win over the Hornets. The two teams squared off in game two of a three-game series at Hornet Field on Thursday.
After the first three innings were close with Santa Ana leading 4-3, the Dons put the game away for good. In the fourth inning, Santa Ana scored seven runs to take an 11-3 lead. The big hit came from first baseman Ben Melendrez, who drove in two runs with an RBI double to center. Melendrez was behind in the count 0-2 before capitalizing on a missed location on a fastball.
Then catcher Carlos Morales stepped into the batter’s box. On the first pitch, Fullerton relief pitcher Mason Smith overthrew a slider that got past catcher Nate Pone and went to the backstop. This allowed Ken Tomitaka to score on the play, and Melendrez moved up to third. Acting Head Coach John Sothern decided to bring the infield up on the grass to cut the runner down at home. Three pitches later, Morales hit a chopper over shortstop Diego Vazquez into left field for an RBI single.
“Lack of pitch execution. They had a couple of choppers and ground balls that got through, which is fine, cause that’s what I’m trying to get them on the ground,” said Sothern. “We weren’t able to execute pitches, and that’s where the game got away from us.”
The Dons were pumped up and loud in the dugout after every pitch and play that went their way. On the opposite side of the dugout, Fullerton was demoralized and shell-shocked by what was happening.
Santa Ana continued to pour it on every inning. In the seventh, leading 15-4, with a runner on first, center fielder Brody Wells came up to the plate. Wells hit a high chopper that bounced over the third baseman, Luke Viola, into left field for a hit. After a strikeout swinging, left fielder Nathaniel Williams hit a grounder over to Vazquez for a possible inning-ending double play. Vazquez decided to throw the ball over to first base at the last moment, realizing he was unable to get the force out at second base.
As a result, he airmailed his throw at first base, and two runs scored on the play. The coaches took their hats off in frustration, knowing that the team was falling apart. Vazquez had his head down in disappointment after making the throw. Santa Ana would add two more runs to make it 19-4 on a 2-run RBI single by Tomitaka. The Dons scored in every inning, except the sixth, in a 22-6 win.
“It’s a change in mentality. We let them bully us, and we’ve taken it, and you can’t do that,” said Sothern. “Of not allowing them and what they do to dictate what we do. If they get a couple hits, they get a couple hits.”
In the first inning, there was a lot of drama that occurred from both head coaches. In the top half, Hornets starting pitcher Eddie Garcia was warned for not making eye contact with designated hitter Barrett Ronson before going into his delivery. Santa Ana Head Coach Tom Nilles came out to argue with the home plate umpire.
Nilles asked the umpire if Fullerton’s starting pitcher, Eddie Garcia, stepped off the rubber before the eye contact situation. The home plate umpire said yes.
Then Nilles asked why Garcia was not called for a balk after the first warning. The umpire tried to explain, and in the end said he knew the rules. Nilles responded that he knew the rulebook. During the entire game, Nilles continued to work the umpires and make his point.
After the first inning ended, Head Coach Chad Baum asked the home plate umpire about a safety situation within the infield. The umpire took offense to it and threw Baum out of the game. Baum started to yell and get up in the umpire’s face, letting him know that he was asking for clarification on the issue.
Sothern took over for the rest of the game. That lit a fuse in Fullerton’s dugout, as they started to rant and chant.
“You never want a coach ejected, but if it is like that and it comes to the worst case, we’re all brothers at the end of the day, and we’re all family,” said Carlos Barrios.
In the third inning, trailing 4-1, Fullerton got an intuitive bounce on Jake Starr’s infield single. He took a change-up that hit off the bottom part of the bat for a slow chopper over to third baseman Tomitaka, who was unable to throw Starr out. The Hornet dugout was howling and using inappropriate language along the way. The first base umpire gave the Hornets’ dugout a warning.
After a Vazquez hit-by-a-pitch, Luke Viola reached on an error by Dons’ second baseman Aiden Marquez. The ball hit off Marquez’s glove and went into shallow right, as Starr scored on the play. Vazquez advanced to third.
Sothern decided to go with a hit-and-run, with Viola running on the play, but it was unsuccessful. Hornets’ left fielder Sean Green flew out to right fielder Nikko Paoletto, who doubled up Viola at first.
Fullerton first baseman Barrios came to the plate. The first pitch he saw, he ripped an RBI single to left field, driving in Vazquez. That cut the deficit to 4-3.
“I was thinking something middle in, trying to get my teammate in. I was sitting fastball, and luckily, I got a fastball,” said Barrios.
Fullerton will travel to Santa Ana for the rubber match of a three-game series on Saturday. Game time is at 12 p.m.
