Irvine Valley's baseball team and head coach Kent Madole started the day by honoring the late, great Don Sneddon.
And the Lasers finished Tuesday with a 6-3 Orange Empire Conference win over Fullerton at home.
Sneddon, the 32-year head coach at Santa Ana that won three state titles and is the all-time leader in wins in community college baseball in California, passed away Monday evening.
Irvine Valley held a moment of silence for the beloved Sneddon before Tuesday afternoon's game.
IVC then went on to capture its third conference win with some clutch hits and another solid performance on the mound by sophomore righthander Caden Byers.
Byers picked up his fifth win (5-3) of the season by going six innings and allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits and two walks with six strikeouts.
Fullerton took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning, but the Lasers grabbed the lead for good in the bottom of the first.
The Lasers sent nine players to the plate and scored five runs.
The big blow was a three-run home run by freshman first baseman Jackson Snitko. Freshman rightfielder Kade Murray and sophomore centerfielder Shane Stafford each also added an RBI in the inning.
Stafford later came through with a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to put the game away for IVC.
Freshman righty Colin Rhee pitched the final 2.1 innings to earn his fifth save of the year for the Lasers. Rhee didn't give up a run, walked one and ended with three strikeouts.
IVC pitchers held Fullerton to just five hits and on offense, the Lasers ended with 11 hits. Freshman second baseman and leadoff man Chase Quezada went 3 for 4 with a run scored, freshman leftfielder Drew Seidel and Murray each added two hits.
Irvine Valley travels to Fullerton for a 2 p.m. conference game on Thursday. The Lasers then host the Hornets again on Friday at 1 p.m. to wrap up the series.
