Orange County Community College Baseball : Bennett Pitches Hornets Past Dons, 7-1

Sophomore left-hander Jim Bennett of Fullerton College held Rancho Santiago hitless for the first six innings Thursday and went on to pitch a five-hitter as the Hornets upset the Dons, 7-1, in South Coast Conference game at Santa Ana.

The Hornets (8-7 in conference and 14-13 overall) scored single runs in the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth innings and added two runs in seventh. Fullerton’s Jeff Oberdank was 5 for 5 with an RBI and a run scored. Teammates Anthony Moreno and John Morin hit solo home runs. The second-place Dons (10-5, 20-7) now lead Cypress by only one game.

In other South Coast Conference action:

Orange Coast 11, Mt. San Antonio 7 (10 innings)--The Pirates scored four runs in the top tenth to break the tie and win their 20th straight. Mike Lujan tripled in the first run of the inning and later scored on an error. Brent Webber and Rex Peters followed with walks and scored on Paul Ellison’s double. Freshman Sam August (9-0) pitched 10 innings and earned the win. First-place Orange Coast (15-0, 26-4), leads Rancho Santiago by five games.

Golden West 11, Saddleback 7--The Rustlers trailed, 5-2, after five innings but rallied and to win at Huntington Beach. Gregg Martin (2-0) pitched 3 innings of relief, striking out six, in earning the win. Teammate Darrin Tomasick was 4 for 5 with a double and two RBIs. Chip Damato singled in George Lazalde, who had tripled with two out in the seventh inning, to give Golden West the lead at 6-5. Saddleback’s Bucky Bolinger hit a two-run home run in the fifth and Scott Hefner added a bases-empty home run in the ninth. Golden West is 9-7 and 15-11. The Gauchos are 5-10 and 13-13.

Cypress 14, Compton 7--Right fielder Guillermo Roses had four hits to lead a 14-hit attack and relief pitcher Tim Hopper earned his first win of the season as the Chargers won at Compton. Cypress improved its conference record to 9-6 and overall mark to 23-9. Rick Nen and Mark Mohler had two hits each and James Jackle hit his 10th home run of the year. Compton is 0-15 in conference and 0-18 overall.