COMMUNITY COLLEGE STATE BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS : Rancho Santiago’s Hoalton Impressive in Career Finale

Brandon Hoalton, one of the most dominating pitchers in Southern California the past two years, finished his career at Rancho Santiago in impressive fashion Saturday.

Hoalton pitched an eight-hitter as the Dons beat Chabot, 8-5, in the first round of the State community college baseball tournament at Cerritos College.

Hoalton was coming off the worst performance of his career in a regional playoff game against Riverside last weekend. He left in the third inning after failing to hold a seven-run lead.

Hoalton looked as if he might be in line for another early exit Saturday when he was pushed around for five runs in the second inning.

“I wasn’t hitting my spots and left my curveball hanging,” he said. The Dons also made two errors in the inning, allowing two runs to score.

But Hoalton recovered and gave up four hits and no runs in the final seven innings. He finished with 10 strikeouts.

Hoalton, 12-2, was 12-0 last season and the State co-pitcher of the year. His 24 victories tie him with Mike Schwabe (1985-86) for Rancho Santiago’s all-time victory record.

“That’s the way I wanted to go out,” said Hoalton, a right-hander. “This was my last game as a Don, so I went out there and gave it all I had. It was pretty exciting.”

After the second, Hoalton was in danger of coming out only once--in the eighth. Chabot had two on and one out when Coach Don Sneddon made a trip to the mound.

“He said he was a little bit tired but that he wanted to finish,” Sneddon said. “The key for him was the second inning when he didn’t lose his composure.”

Hoalton got a double-play ground ball to escape the eighth, then worked a perfect ninth and got the final out on a called third strike.

“That’s how I wanted it to end,” Hoalton said.

Rancho Santiago (39-11), the defending State champion, advanced to play Lassen at 11 a.m. today at Cerritos. Brian Martineau (5-3) is scheduled to pitch for the Dons.

Chabot (33-13) will play Cypress at 10 a.m. at Long Beach.

Chabot’s five-run second put the Gladiators ahead, 5-4, but the Dons came back to score two more in the third. Jason Minici had an RBI single up the middle, and Toby Sanchez added an RBI groundout.

Sanchez had a two-run single in the inning before when Rancho Santiago scored four times.

Keith Cowley had a two-run double in the eighth to put Rancho Santiago ahead, 8-5.

“That was the key hit for us,” Sneddon said.

Cowley’s double drove in Sanchez, who was hit by a pitch, and pinch-runner Paul Horning, who was in for Jamie Estrada, who had walked.

Of Rancho Santiago’s eight runs, three reached on walks, two were hit and another reached first on an error.

Matt Kastelic had three hits, including an RBI bunt single in the second for Rancho Santiago. He has 73 hits this season and 154 in his career, tying him with Conrad Colby (1989-90) for the most in Rancho Santiago history.