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Santa Ana Rallies; Falls In SoCal Finale, 7-6
COSTA MESA, CA - Coming into Sunday's California Community College Southern California Regional Baseball Championship game, Santa Ana College (34-11) and Orange Coast College (29-16) had met four times this season with all four games being decided by one run. Sunday's two games were no exception...the only difference was who had the bat last.
 In the first championship bracket game, Joe Echaves' sacrifice fly to center drove in Matt Morris from third as Santa Ana scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth off Orange Coast closer Luke Beck to win 5-4 and force a seventh and deciding game. Jose Chavez walked to lead off the Dons' ninth inning, took second on a wild pitch and then scored Morris' second double of the game. Another wild pitch by Beck put Morris 90 feet away from winning the game and setting the stage for Echaves' game-winning drive to center.
In the second game, the Pirates' designated hitter
Stephen Schneider returned the favor when lofted a two-out double just inside the left field  line to score Josh Banda in from first in the bottom of the ninth to give Orange Coast a 7-6 win and a berth in the
2005 Citi California Community Colleges Commission on Athletics Baseball Championships, May 28-30.
Santa Ana rallied from a 5-1 deficit to tie the game, 6-6, with two runs in the eighth and three in the ninth. Like game one, Chavez, who was 2 for 4, started the eighth-inning rally with the single and scored on Morris' fourth double of the game to cut the Pirates' lead to 5-2. Corey Skaggs made it a 5-3 game when he laced a single back up the middle driving in Morris. Jacob Vasquez's single knocked Orange Coast starter Steven Johns out of the ball game, but Pirates' reliever
Mark Haderlein retired the next three Dons' batters to end the threat.
Schneider gave Orange Coast a 6-3 lead in the bottom of the eighth when he led off the inning with a double, moved to third on Danny Gonzales' sacrifice bunt and scored on Matt Cline's fielder's choice.
In the ninth, Orange Coast's Haderlein retired Wes Pascolla for the first out of the inning on a grounder to second, but C.J. Rice and Jose Chavez followed with infield singles to set the tables for the red-hot Morris, who was 8-for-10 on the day with four doubles, five runs scored and five RBI. Morris picked the moment to hit his first home run of the season, a three-run shot off the net in left field to tie the game, 6-6.
The game appeared to be going to extra innings in the bottom of the ninth despite Anthony Slama (4-4) walking the Pirates' leadoff batter Josh Banda. Slama promptly got Beck to flyout to center and struckout out Matt Meadows for the first two outs, before Schneider connected on his 2-2 offering that landed fair and scored Banda with the game winner.
California Communty College Super Regional Baseball Pairings
(Double-Elimination Tournament)
SITE B
(at Orange Coast College, Costa Mesa (CA))
Friday, May 20 Results
Game 1: (3) Santa Ana, 6; (6) Cypress, 5 (10 innings)
Game 2: (2) Orange Coast, 6; (7) Irvine Valley 5
Saturday, May 21
Game 3: (6) Cypress 14, (7) Irvine Valley 1, Irvine Valley eliminated
(at Golden West College)
Game 4: (2) Orange Coast 8, (3) Santa Ana 7
Game 5: (3) Santa Ana 9, Cypress 5, Cypress eliminated
Sunday, May 22
Game 6: (3) Santa Ana 5, (2) Orange Coast 4
Game 7: (2) Orange Coast 7, (3) Santa Ana 6
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