Rustlers Honor Sophomores with 5-1 Victory Over Santa Ana

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. — Golden West College celebrated Sophomore Day in style on Tuesday afternoon, earning a 5-1 victory over Santa Ana College in Orange Empire Conference action.

With the win, the Rustlers improve to 21-15 overall and 12-8 in conference play.

Golden West was powered by a complete-game performance in the circle from Angelique Perez, who limited the Dons to just one run on four hits while striking out 10 over seven dominant innings. Perez improved to 13-8 on the season.

The Rustlers struck first in the opening inning as Ilysa Hoepelmen set the tone, reaching base and eventually scoring on a sacrifice fly by Mya Santiago to give Golden West an early 1-0 lead.

Santa Ana answered in the fourth inning with a solo home run from Nevaeh Gomez to even the score at 1-1, but the Rustlers quickly regained control. Later in the inning, Siena Rodriguez reached on an error, allowing Aliyah Lomulijo to score and put Golden West back on top, 2-1.

Golden West continued to build its lead in the fifth when Isabella Santiago delivered an RBI single to plate Hoepelmen. The Rustlers added two more insurance runs in the sixth inning, highlighted by an RBI single from Vivian Espinoza and another run-scoring hit from Hoepelmen to extend the lead to 5-1.

Offensively, Hoepelmen led the way with a 2-for-4 performance, scoring twice and driving in a run. Espinoza had a perfect day at the plate, going 3-for-3 with an RBI, while Isabella Santiago and Mya Santiago each added an RBI.

Golden West totaled 10 hits in the contest and applied consistent pressure on the basepaths, swiping multiple bases and capitalizing on Santa Ana's defensive miscues.

The Rustlers wrap up the regular season on Thursday at Santa Ana with a 2pm start.