The Dons took their 6-game winning streak to Pittsburg on Wednesday and ran into a tough Pittsburg
High School Pirates team. The field conditions couldn’t have been more different from their previous road trip game down to Carmel. A big outfield with 375-foot center fence distance and Pittsburg plays on turf so even a 2:30 pm downpour didn’t stand in the way of a 4 pm game start. When will this rain ever stop?

The Dons have been very good at moving runners around the bases this season but in an ominous sign, we left two stranded to start the first inning. Henry Souza, our veteran southpaw, was the Dons’ starting pitcher but the Pirates came out hungry and managed to accumulate a quick 5-0 lead off several hard-hit singles. A good team making it hard on us right from the start.

Tyson Bates took the mound in the 2nd inning and kept things closed down into the 5th, recording 3 strikeouts on the day. A few nice pickoff plays by catcher Sammy Lee and Gavin Bender help out the cause.

The Pirates starting pitcher, who eventually would go the distance, was keeping the Dons’ bats pretty quiet until the top of the 5th inning . With one out, Keegan Goddard tripled to center field. Mason Michlitsch came up and was promptly hit in the helmet with a mistake curve ball.

Hot hitting Gavin Bender came up and smoked a double down the left-field line to score Goddard. Nico O’Rourke then grounded out to third but was able to score Mason. Sammy Lee then doubled and scored Bender, to make the score 5-3, Pirates. Dons are trying to make a move!

Bottom of the 5th, unfortunately Pittsburg answers back by knocking a hard double to center field where Andrew Habas makes a diving effort but comes up just short. Combine this with two clutch bunt plays and the Pirates are able to move two more runs across the plate. Pirates lead 7-3.

Tyson Bates gives up the mound for Peter Thorn to make his regular relief appearance. Pete closes the game out cleanly, facing only 5 batters.

Pittsburg pitcher Josh Painter finished a complete game as the Dons went down in the 6th and 7th innings. Pittsburg’s record moves to 8-3. Our boys played hard and came up a little short in the loss. That’s baseball and can happen with a stacked D1 pre league schedule. The Dons 7-3 start to the season is impressive. Come out to watch on Saturday at 11am as the Dons face Berkeley at home.