Rancho Santiago Advances to Next Round : Community College baseball: Dons beat San Diego Mesa, 9-6, to get into four-team regional.

Kyle Evans, calling on a lesson he learned in Little League, hit a key three-run home run to help host Rancho Santiago to a 9-6 victory over San Diego Mesa in a Southern California playoff game Saturday.

The home run, his Orange County-leading 10th, broke a 3-3 tie in the fourth inning and the Dons (36-9) never trailed again. With the victory, Rancho Santiago wins the series, 2-0, and will play host to a four-team regional starting Friday.

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Rancho Santiago will be joined by fellow Orange Empire Conference members Saddleback and , Riverside as well as Los Angeles Pierce. The pairings will be announced Monday and the first round is Friday.

San Diego Mesa (22-20) scored three times in the third to take a 3-0 lead, but the Dons came back with three in the top of the fourth.

Then with one out in the fifth, Brian Carlson walked and Tony Zuniga lined a single to left. Evans then powered a fastball over the right-center field fence to put the Dons up, 6-3.

Afterward he explained that in Little League, when most pitchers put their hand in their glove and don’t adjust their grip on the ball, it was almost a sure bet it would be a fastball.

Evans noticed San Diego Mesa’s Geoff Geary was doing that and took advantage of it.

“I just pumped myself up,” Evans said. “I was thinking that I’ve got to get No. 10 . . . I’m having a great time right now. I’m a little more focused and relaxed.”

The home run wasn’t the only damage Evans did Saturday.

He also had a sacrifice fly in the seventh and an RBI single in the ninth. The second hit gave the Dons a 9-5 lead.

Evans, the co-most valuable player of the conference, had five hits and drove in nine runs in the two games against San Diego Mesa.

Kirk Irvine, the conference’s pitcher of the year, struggled at times but was able to pitch a complete game for Rancho Santiago. He gave up five hits, struck out six, and only two of the runs were earned. Irvine (10-3) walked six and hit another.

“Kirk did a very, very good job of battling even though he didn’t have his good stuff,” Rancho Santiago Coach Don Sneddon said.

San Diego Mesa, the designated home team, scored three unearned runs in the third, but Rancho Santiago then got lucky.

With one out, Evans reached base on an error, and took second on a passed ball. Jamie Estrada doubled to left-center but Evans, unaware there were two outs, advanced only to third.

Both scored when Keith Cowley’s short fly to right fell in for a single. Toby Sanchez then lined a triple off the fence in center.