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10/22/12: Order your holiday trees and wreaths now!

The Saddleback baseball program is once again having its annual holiday fundraiser and selling trees and wreaths to help raise funds for the program.  Order your tree by November 16 and have it by December 8 to decorate.

Saddleback is working with Olympic Tree Farms in Shelton, Washington, and offering great prices on some of the best looking holiday trees on the West Coast.  See the attached order form and order either a Douglas Fir, Noble Fir or Grand Fir at an affordable price. 

All proceeds from the fundraiser go directly to the Saddleback baseball program.

Tree Information

Order Form

8/25/12: Punto comes back to Southern California

Nick Punto, a switch-hitting utility infielder who helped lead Saddleback to its best two seasons in school history, has come back to Southern California this weekend as he was traded from the Boston Red Sox to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Punto, who prepped at Trabuco Hills High School in Mission Viejo, led Saddleback to a 36-10 record in 1997 and a 39-12 record in 1998 along with a pair of back-to-back state championship tournament appearances. He was drafted as a shortstop by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1998 and after three seasons in the majors (2001-2003) battling Jimmy Rollins for playing time knew he should be hoping for a new team. That opportunity came with the Minnesota Twins where he spent the next seven seasons (2004-2010) and helped the Twins reach the post-season four times (2004, 2006, 2009, 2010). He spent the 2011 season with the St. Louis Cardinals, helping the red birds capture a World Series title. Punto was traded to Boston to start the 2012 season before getting packaged in a multi-player deal last week as one of four Red Sox players sent to the Dodgers.

In his Dodgers debut on Saturday evening (August 25), Punto drew an eighth inning pinch-hit walk and later scored in the Dodgers' 8-2 victory over the Miami Marlins.

6/7/12: Former Gaucho drafted in the 10^th round

Former Saddleback baseball player (outfielder) Brett Vertigan was selected in the 10^th round of the major league draft on Tuesday by the Oakland Athletics.  Vertigan played with the Gauchos in 2009 and 2010 before transferring to UC Santa Barbara.

Vertigan was selected with the 319^th overall selection in the 40-round draft, which spans over three days.  He was a First Team All-Orange Empire Conference player in 2010 as a sophomore when he batted .421 with a .964 fielding percentage and led Saddleback in eight offensive categories.  He finished fourth in the OEC in batting in 2010.

After Saddleback, Vertigan transferred to UC Santa Barbara (pictured right), whose mascot also happens to be the Gauchos.  He led UCSB in batting (.381), hits (90), runs scored (54), triples (9), stolen bases (17), extra-base hits (24), total bases (125) and slugging percentage (.530) this past season in being named First Team All-Big West Conference. 

Vertigan is expected to sign with the Athletics.

5/8/12: Four Gauchos named to all-conference team

The Saddleback baseball team was very young on the field in 2012, but made big strides down the stretch in winning six of its last nine games to finish the season.  Four Gauchos were named to the All-Orange Empire Conference Team following the season, as Lee Casas, Josh Fuentes, Brian Romero and Ryan Forkel were all recognized by the conference coaches.

Casas, Fuentes and Romero were all named to the first team, meaning Saddleback had three of the six infielders listed to the squad.  Forkel earned second team recognition as an outfielder.

Casas was the lone sophomore on the first team as he finished second on the team in batting (.350) while leading the team in RBI (27), walks (14), doubles (14) and slugging percentage (.469).  He played in all 36 games for the Gauchos, finishing with a .981 fielding percentage.

Fuentes and Romero were both freshmen in 2012, and both played like veterans throughout.  Fuentes led the team with a .357 batting average while finishing second to Casas in RBI (26), walks (13) and slugging percentage (.462).     

Romero was fourth on the team with a .311 batting average, finishing with a .922 fielding percentage at the hot corner. 

Forkel made the team after just missing out as a freshman in 2011.  He committed just one error in the field all season long while tying for the team lead in runs-scored (28). 

The Gauchos finished the 2012 campaign at 15-21 overall and 8-13 in Orange Empire Conference play.

4/30/12: Baseball rolls a “7” on final day of season

The Saddleback baseball team finished up the 2012 campaign with a bang, beating Chaffey and perhaps knocking the Panthers out of the playoffs in the process.  Saddleback scored seven times in the seventh inning in finishing the season on a high note.

Saddleback looked like a team playing a meaningless game for the first six innings, trailing 6-0 and looking somewhat listless in the process.  The Gauchos then decided to have some fun in the seventh, taking advantage of two costly errors by Chaffey while batting around the entire lineup in taking a 7-6 lead.

The inning started with a walk to Josh Huntzinger and a single by Dillon Meyer, setting the stage for a disastrous run by the Panther pitching staff.  Ryan Forkel then walked to load the bases, which proceeded Brian Romero being hit by a pitch for the first Gaucho run of the inning.  With the bases still loaded and no outs, Chaffey then switched pitchers, but it didn’t prove to change their luck.  The reliever waked Taran Tani for the second run of the inning before finally getting an out on a fielder’s choice but seeing the lead cut in half at 6-3 in the process.  Things then got worse for the Panthers, as Joseph Martin was hit by a pitch to once again load the bases.  Saddleback quickly took advantage as Gil Viera singled to cut the lead to 6-4, thus forcing another pitching change from the Chaffey coaching staff.  With their third pitcher of the inning entering the game, the Panthers’ shortstop then committed two straight errors, thus allowing the Gauchos to tie the game at 6-6.  Saddleback scored the eventual winning run on a slow roller to first by Dillon Meyer, allowing Viera to cross the plate with the go-ahead run.

As if that wasn’t enough, Chaffey then left the bases loaded in the next two innings as Saddleback pitchers surrendered three hits, two walks and a hit batter, but no runs.  Paul Selecky came on to get the final four outs of the game in picking up his second save of the season, giving the Gauchos a great sendoff for the season.

Chaffey, on the other hand, may have seen their playoff chances go out the window on Saturday as the Panthers did not receive a payoff bid on Sunday after finishing the season 21-15.  Chaffey finished in a tie for second place in the Foothill Conference with San Bernadino Valley College, a team that was seeded 14^th of 18 teams.  The Panthers also had a better record than at least six teams in the playoffs…including a fourth place College of the Canyons program that took the final seed in the playoffs.

Saddleback finishes the season at 15-21, winning six of its final nine games of the year.  The Gauchos played with a freshman-dominated lineup throughout, as four of the top five hitters in the lineup were first-year players.  One of those freshmen, Josh Fuentes (pictured right), finished with a team-leading .357 average, also leading the team with 51 hits while finishing second with 26 RBI.  Fuentes also tied for the team lead with 28 runs scored and two triples, leading the team with a .425 on-base percentage.

“It was a learning experience for all of us,” first year head coach Sommer McCartney (pictured above left) said.  “We learned a lot about ourselves as a group, and played much better baseball down the stretch.  We have a good nucleus of players returning for next season and plenty of reasons to be optimistic, going forward.”

4/25/12: Baseball beats Riverside to remain in sixth

The Saddleback baseball team upset third place Riverside City College on Tuesday with a 5-3 victory at RCC.  The win keeps the Gauchos in sixth place, just one game out of fourth place with one game left on the conference schedule.

Saddleback has been playing better baseball down the stretch and could end up playing the spoiler role on Thursday when they host their final conference game of the season against Riverside at Doug Fritz Field.  A win by the Gauchos combined with losses from Golden West and Cypress could create a three-way tie for fourth place, possibly eliminating one of the teams from the upcoming Southern California playoffs.  Saddleback was in last place just 2.5 weeks ago before winning 5-of-7, with the only two losses coming against second place Santa Ana.

The Gauchos received yet another outstanding pitching performance from Evan Manarino (left) on Tuesday, as he went the distance in beating the Tigers to improve to 6-5 on the season.  Manarino spread around 10 hits with two walks and got some solid help behind him as the Saddleback defense committed no errors while turning two double plays.  After surrendering two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to narrow the lead to 4-3, Manarino proceeded to get the next 9-of-10 batters out in heading to the bottom of the ninth inning with a 5-3 lead.  He then gave up two hits to start the ninth inning before striking out two straight Tigers to set up the final out of the game.  Manarino then threw a wild pitch to put the potential tying run at second base, before facing the leading hitter for Riverside.  He managed to get Cade Gotta to hit one back to the mound, where the ball glanced off his glove and into the hands of second baseman Josh Fuentes (right), who then fired the ball to first base for the final out of the game.

Fuentes not only made the final play for the Gauchos, but he also led Saddleback with three hits and four RBI on the afternoon.  His three hits lifted his team-leading batting average to .362 for the season while his four RBI puts him one behind Lee Casas for the team lead at 26 for the season.

Saddleback will finish the conference schedule at home on Thursday when they face Riverside at 6:00 PM.  They then have one more game at Chaffey College on Saturday to finish the regular season. 

4/19/12: Baseball playoff run takes a big hit

Saddleback's season-long 4-game winning streak came to an end at home on Thursday as the Gauchos fell to visiting Santa Ana College, 9-6.

Santa Ana designated hitter Tyler Madrid accounted for six RBI, including a two-run home run in the third inning and a grand slam in the seventh inning, erasing Saddleback's 4-3 lead and giving the Dons a 7-4 advantage. Saddleback would add two runs in the bottom of the seventh to cut the deficit to 7-6, but Santa Ana put together another rally in the eighth inning to get those two runs back.

Taylor Ohl (pictured) pitched 6 1/3 strong innings for the Gauchos, leaving the game with a 4-3 lead but the bases loaded. Reliever Paul Selecky came in to face Madrid, surrendering what would amount to the game-winning home run.

Santa Ana closer Matt Blanchard pitched the bottom of the ninth inning, striking out all three batters he faced to record his third save of the season.

These two teams will meet again on Friday at Santa Ana College starting at 2:00 p.m.


4/18/12: Baseball hammers Fullerton for fourth straight win

The Saddleback baseball team has a four-game winning streak for the first time this season after a dominating 12-4 win over Fullerton College on Tuesday afternoon at Fullerton.  The Gauchos climbed into fifth place all alone after blasting the Hornets for 20 hits.

Saddleback is hitting its peak at the right time…the only question will be whether or not it is too late to make the playoffs.  The Gauchos currently sit in fifth place in the Orange Empire Conference, two games back of both Golden West and Riverside.  With four games remaining on the conference schedule, Saddleback finishes the conference docket with two games against second place Santa Ana and two more against Riverside.  Conversely, Riverside has to play first place Orange Coast a couple of times before getting the Gauchos to finish off the conference schedule.

On the field, Saddleback is starting to look like a team that is playoff worthy, as they made a mess of the Fullerton pitching staff for the second time in three days.  The Gauchos scored three times in the first inning and carried a 6-1 lead into the seventh inning before scoring three more times in both the seventh and eighth innings in opening up a 12-2 lead.  The first four batters in the lineup finished 13-for-23, with Brian Romero (pictured left) leading the charge with four hits.  Both Romero and Ryan Forkel led Saddleback with three RBI apiece as the Gauchos collected 20 hits on the day.

Once again the Gauchos received another solid pitching performance from their starting rotation as Evan Manarino (pictured right) spread around nine hits over 6.1 innings in picking up his fifth win of the season.   He evened his season record at 5-5 while lowering his ERA to 3.98 for the season.

Looking ahead, Saddleback will play again at home on Thursday against perennial power Santa Ana.  The Gauchos fell to the Dons 10-4 in their only meeting of the season on March 13 when they surrendered six runs in the second inning and never got themselves back into the game.  First pitch is scheduled for 2:00 PM.  They will then travel to Santa Ana on Friday for a 2:00 game against the Dons. 

4/13/12: Baseball hammers Cypress for a second time

The Saddleback baseball team scored a 10-2 win over Cypress College on Thursday afternoon, marking the second time in four days the Gauchos have blasted the Chargers.  The Gauchos received a tremendous performance from Taylor Ohl on the mound in passing up two teams in the conference standings.

Saddleback entered the week in last place in the conference standings and looking like a team just playing out the string.  That all changed this week when the Gauchos roughed up Cypress pitching in beating the Chargers 17-4 in two games, moving into sixth place and within a game of fifth.

Saddleback entered the sixth inning with a 3-1 lead on Thursday and took control by scoring three more times in the sixth inning.  The Gauchos then took advantage of two Cypress miscues in the field in the ninth inning, scoring four un-earned runs and climbing to within one game of the Chargers in the conference standings with six games remaining on the conference schedule.

Lee Casas led the offensive charge for Saddleback, finishing 3-for-4 with two doubles and three RBI.  Casas was also hit by a pitch, reaching base four times on the day.

The story of the day, however, was the pitching performance by Ohl (pictured), who had the Chargers off balance all afternoon.  He spread around seven hits with solo runs in the second and sixth innings, and never appeared to be in big trouble on the day.  Ohl struck out three batters and had great command, finishing with no walks and one hit-batter for the afternoon in improving to 3-2 on the season.

 Saddleback improved to 11-18 on the season and 5-10 in Orange Empire Conference play with the win.  The Gauchos will look to improve on those numbers on Saturday when they travel to Fullerton College to take on the seventh place Hornets.  Game time is set for 12-noon, weather permitting.

4/10/12: Gauchos light up Chargers in seventh inning

The Saddleback baseball team sent 10 batters to the plate in the seventh inning to score six runs and erase a 2-1 deficit in beating visiting Cypress College 7-2 on Tuesday.

Gil Viera (pictured) led off with a triple over the center fielder's head to open the inning and was followed by Ryan Forkel's RBI single to left field. Brian Romero singled and Lee Casas was walked intentionally to load the bases. Joppi Martin then came through with a clutch single to left field which drove in two runs and Josh Fuentes followed with a single up the middle to add another run. Noah Graham completed the scoring barrage when he drove in both Martin and Fuentes with a double to the fence just inside the left field foul pole.

Saddleback starting pitcher Evan Manarino (4-5) was sterling in his seven innings of work, striking out nine batters and walking just one in earning the victory. Paul Selecky came on in relief to shut out the Chargers over the last two innings.

The Gauchos have six games remaining on the conference schedule and will be at home twice next week hosting Fullerton on Tuesday (April 17) and Santa Ana on Thursday (April 19). Both games will start at 2:00 p.m.


4/4/12: Baseball roughs up Reedley in road-trip opener

The annual trip to the Central Valley opened with a bang on Tuesday as the Saddleback baseball team roughed up Reedley College, 8-1.  The Gauchos pounded out 13 hits while taking advantage of five Tiger miscues in the field in winning their opener of the three-day tour.

Saddleback trailed Reedley 1-0 heading into the fifth inning before finally breaking through.   The Gauchos scored twice in the fifth, once in the sixth, three more times in the seventh and twice more in the eighth in opening up an 8-1 lead. 

Meanwhile, Evan Manarino (pictured) gave Saddleback arguably its best pitching performance of the season, going the distance while surrendering just five hits and one earned-run on the afternoon.   Manarino hit three batters, but allowed just three hits after the first inning in keeping the Tigers off balance at the plate. 

Saddleback opened up the offense in the fifth inning when Gilbert Viera doubled to open the inning, and quickly advanced to third on a single by Ryan Forkel.  Moments later he scored the tying run on a sacrifice bunt by Dillon Meyer.  Later in the inning Kyle Ferrett singled home Forkel and the Gauchos had a lead they would never relinquish. 

After scoring one more run in the sixth inning for a 3-1 lead, Saddleback then turned a Reedley defensive miscue into three more runs in the seventh inning in taking command of the game.  Noah Graham reached on a boot by the shortstop with two outs in the inning to load the bases before Joseph Martin quickly took advantage of the mistake, lining a single to center field to score two more runs and deflate the Tigers. 

Saddleback will play again on Wednesday when they play at College of the Sequoias.  First pitch is set for 2:00 PM.

3/22/12: Saddleback takes two from Lasers this week

3/06/12: Gauchos come up short in scoring frenzy

Saddleback's comeback bid in the ninth inning of Tuesday's Orange Empire Conference baseball game against Golden West fell short and the Gauchos stranded the tying runners on base in a 13-11 setback to the Rustlers on Doug Fritz field.

After jumping out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning, Saddleback saw that lead quickly disappear as the Rustlers answered with four of their own in the second inning. Saddleback designated hitter Brian Romero (pictured) knotted the score at 5-5 in the fourth inning with a towering home run to right field - his first of the season - but Golden West would put up the next five runs for a 10-5 advantage.

The Gauchos wouldn't fall so easily. They stroked six singles and posted four runs in the bottom half of the eighth inning to close the gap to 10-9 but left the tying run at second base. The momentum switched back to Golden West in the top half of the ninth inning as the Rustlers took advantage of three Saddleback errors to score three runs and increase the lead back to four runs, 13-9.

Saddleback again took to the offensive charge, taking advantage of a hit batsman and two singles to load the bases. Josh Fuentes drew a walk to push across one run and Romero's ground ball to shortstop drove in another run. But Saddleback's rally ended when the next two batters struck out looking to end the game.

Romero went 3-for-5, scoring three runs and collecting two RBI. Lee Casas, Joppi Martin, and Dillon Meyer each collected two hits, with Casas accounting for three RBI.

Saddleback pitchers could not corral the Rustlers, with all six Gaucho hurlers surrendering runs. Brian Bass absorbed the loss, despite not allowing a hit.

The Gauchos will play at Cypress on Thursday before returning home to host Fullerton on Saturday at noon.

3/03/12: Gauchos fall to Pirates

Saddleback dropped a 13-3 decision to visiting Orange Coast College in an Orange Empire Conference baseball game on Saturday.

Saddleback first baseman Lee Casas singled up the middle to drive in two runs in the bottom of the third inning to tie the score at 2-2, accounting for the Gauchos' only RBI's on the day. And the teams remained tied through four innings before Orange Coast (14-1, 2-0) found its offensive groove. The Pirates sent eight batters to the plate in the fifth inning and nine batters to the plate in the sixth inning, scoring four times in each of those innings to break out to a 10-2 advantage.

Casas and sophomore center fielder Dillon Meyer each tallied a single and a double on the afternoon to account for one-half of Saddleback's hits.

The Gauchos (5-7, 0-2) will be back at home on Tuesday (March 6) to host the Golden West College Rustlers at 2:00 p.m.




3/01/12: Irvine Valley steals conference-opener from Gauchos

Irvine Valley's baseball team scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh and another in the bottom of the eighth to come from behind and defeat Saddleback, 4-3, in the Orange Empire Conference opener for both teams on Thursday afternoon at Irvine Valley.

The Lasers trailed 2-1 after Saddleback scored single runs in the top of the fifth and sixth innings. In the bottom of the seventh inning, Irvine Valley's Brian Glynn doubled down the left field line and then advanced to third base on a passed ball. Saddleback starting pitcher Evan Manarino (pictured) struck out Jesus Meza, but then freshman shortstop Enzio Perez singled to drive in Glynn. Perez advanced to second on an error on the play. Bryce Hara grounded out to second for the second out with Perez moving to third on the play. And when Manarino had the count 0 and 2 on the next batter, sophomore second baseman Scott Kaplan, Perez raced down the line and stole home.

The  two runs gave Irvine Valley a 3-2 lead. Irvine Valley added a run in the bottom of the eighth. With runners on second and third after Danny Jimenez singled and Guite doubled, designated hitter Matt Balliet put down a squeeze bunt that scored Jimenez. Guite also tried to hustle around and score on the play from second base, but was thrown out at home to end the inning.

Saddleback made things interesting in the top of the ninth inning - all with two outs. Josh Fuentes singled to center and Ryan Forkel walked. That chased Irvine Valley starting pitcher Jordan Geiger. Freshman right-hander Jason Euler came in for Geiger and gave up a RBI single to Kyle Ferret that made it a 4-3 game. But Geiger got Lee Casas to fly out to right to end the game.

Saddleback finished with 11 hits with Fuentes going 4 for 5 with one RBI and Joppi Martin going 3 for 4.

The Gauchos also got a solid start on the mound from Manarino (1-3), who went the distance. He gave up four runs (three earned) on nine hits. He struck out four.



2/25/12: Gauchos fall to Cuesta during different hit parade

Saddleback College dropped a non-conference baseball decision to visiting Cuesta College on Saturday afternoon, 5-2, in what was a different kind of hit parade.

The Gauchos (5-5) were able to collect nine hits and would have had more if it wasn’t for several solid defensive plays turned in by the Cuesta (10-3) defense.  Josh Fuentes and Lee Casas each had two hits for the Gauchos with Fuentes driving in one run.

The difference wasn’t in how many times Cuesta hit the ball (twice) but in how many times the ball hit a Cougar (nine).  Cuesta also benefitted from six walks and a Gaucho error to account for 16 free base runners.  Saddleback’s defense had to turn in a couple of solid plays to keep the Cougars at just five runs.  Cuesta scored twice in the third as Saddleback pitching walked in a run with bases loaded and then gave up a sacrifice fly.  The Cougars added two more runs in the sixth inning, taking advantage of two hit batsmen and then a key single followed by a throwing error.

Cuesta’s David Murillo (2-1) pitched eight innings to earn the victory with Brett Haringa pitching the ninth inning for his first save.  Saddleback’s Christian Stubbs (1-2) absorbed the loss.

It was Cuesta’s 10^th consecutive victory after starting the season 0-3.  Saddleback leveled its record out at 5-5 before starting Orange Empire Conference play at home on Thursday.  The Gauchos will host Irvine Valley College in the conference opener starting at 2:00 p.m.



2/15/12: Game at Compton postponed a day

Saddleback's baseball game at Compton scheduled for Wednesday, February 15, has been postponed one day due to rain. The game will be played on Thursday, February 16, at Compton starting at 2:00 p.m.



2/14/12: Saddleback baseball outslugs Chaffey in latest win

The Saddleback baseball team has shown signs of life on offense in 2012 after a season a year ago when the team relied heavily on pitching and defense.  The Gauchos outslugged Chaffey College 13-6 on Tuesday, pounding out 15 hits against Panther pitching.

A season ago Saddleback scored 13 or more runs just two times all season long, but this season has already scored 13 runs on two occasions through six games.  The Gauchos pummeled Chaffey pitching for 11 hits over the first five innings on Tuesday in taking a 10-2 lead into the sixth inning.  Noah Graham (pictured left) led the charge for Saddleback on offense, finishing 3-for-4, including two doubles and a solo home run to left-center field in the sixth inning to put the Gauchos up 11-2.

Meanwhile, Saddleback pitching was stellar through the first eight innings, surrendering just two earned-runs on six hits.  Starter Taylor Ohl (pictured right) picked up his first win of the season, finishing five innings of work and giving up one earned-run on four hits.  Kyle Katsandris and Jeff Martin worked the next three innings, allowing just one run on two hits. 

In all, Saddleback finished the game with six doubles, one triple and a home run.  They also managed six walks and all nine starters in the lineup had at least one hit in the game.

Saddleback improved to 4-2 overall with the win.  They will play again on Wednesday at Compton College, weather permitting.  First pitch is set for 2:00 PM.

2/13/12: Baseball bounces back with a win

The Saddleback baseball team dropped the first two games of a three-game series against Santa Barbara City College on Friday evening and Saturday morning and were looking to bounce back with a win in game three on Saturday afternoon.  The Gauchos responded with an outstanding pitching performance, shutting down the Vaqueros, 6-2, to improve to 3-2 on the season.

Saddleback needed a solid outing from their pitching staff after losing two straight to Santa Barbara and received it, as both Christian Stubbs and Jake Ham were up to the task.  Stubbs (pictured left) started and pitched five innings, surrendering four hits and two earned-runs en route to picking up his first win of the season.  Ham (pictured right) was dominant in the later innings, giving up just one hit over the final four innings of work in picking up his first save of the season. 

Meanwhile, the offense also showed signs of life as Saddleback scraped out 10 hits.  The Gauchos opened up a 6-1 lead after four innings and never looked back.  Lee Casas and Josh Fuentes led the charge, both finishing 2-for-3 on the day.

The Gauchos also improved a bit on defense after committing eight errors in the first two games of the series.  Saddleback still committed two more errors in game three, but neither of them came back to haunt them in the end.  Both errors came in the third inning as blunders in the field allowed the Vaqueros to have two runners on base with just one out in the inning.  Stubbs, however, got the next batter to pop up to third base and then struck out the final batter of the inning, preserving the lead.

Saddleback improved to 3-2 with the win, and with it ended a two-game slide.  The Gauchos will host Chaffey College on Tuesday, weather permitting.  First pitch is scheduled for 2:00 PM.

2/7/12: Baseball game postponed

Tuesday's baseball game at Chaffey was postponed due to the weather. It has been re-scheduled for Tuesday, April 28, at Chaffey starting at 12:00 noon.

2/4/12: Knights Wild Throw Ends Baseball Game

Saddleback took advantage of five runs in the first inning to jump out to a quick lead over the visiting San Diego City College Knights in a non-conference baseball game Saturday at Doug Fritz Field.  But those early runs wouldn’t be enough as the Gauchos later gave up five runs in the eighth inning, then battled back from a three run deficit to defeat the Knights, 13-12, in 11 innings.

In a game which featured a lot of baseball – and by a lot of baseball we’re talking about 25 runs, 27 hits, six errors, nine batters hit by pitch, and two balks – it came down to an errant short throw that finally finished the event after four hours.

With the score tied 12-12 in the bottom half of the 11^th inning, Saddleback left fielder Ryan Forkel (left) led off the inning with a double over the center fielder’s head.  Saddleback second baseman Josh Fuentes laid down his third sacrifice bunt of the game to move Forkel to third.  However, San Diego City pitcher Alex Bernal scooped up the bunt and tried to make a play on Forkel at third but his throw sailed up the baseline and out of the reach of the Knights’ third baseman, allowing Forkel to round the bag and race for home, beating the throw with the winning run.

Catcher Kyle Ferret (right)continues his torrid hitting, going 4-for-5 with a double and two RBI while Fuentes went 2-for-3 with a double and Lee Casas was 2-for-4 with a double and three RBI.  Dylan Ehrlich pitched the final 1-2/3 innings to pick up the win.



2/3/12: McCartney era starts with a win

The Sommer McCartney era kicked off in good fashion on Friday when the Saddleback baseball team opened the season with a 5-2 win at San Diego City College.  The Gauchos received a fine pitching performance from Evan Manarino and a solid day at the plate from Kyle Ferrett in giving the new coach a perfect 1-0 start to his career.

If new head coach Sommer McCartney (left) were to officially retire before tomorrow, he would have the best all-time winning percentage in Saddleback baseball history.  However, he would still be 579 wins shy of former coach Jack Hodges in total wins.    One thing is for certain, McCartney would love to have a bunch more days like he had today as his pitching was stellar and the sticks did enough to get a notch in the win column.

Manarino (right) was solid on the hill, surrendering just four hits in seven innings of work, leaving with a 5-2 lead after seven innings of work.  The bullpen did its job, with Taylor Ohl pitching the eighth inning and Paul Selecky striking out the side in the ninth inning to pick up the save.

The offense was led by Ferrett, who finished 4-for-4 with two doubles.  The Gauchos had seven hits as a team.

Saddleback will open its home season tomorrow at home in a rematch with San Diego City.  First pitch is scheduled for 12:00 PM.

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