Baseball runs winning streak to three

The Saddleback baseball team won its third straight game with a 5-2 win against Golden West College on Thursday at Doug Fritz Field.  Saddleback took advantage of a number of miscues by the Rustlers in improving to 4-2 overall.

The matchup was supposed to be a pitching showdown between Saddleback starter Scott Armstrong and Golden West starter Ricky Tiedermann, bringing out as many as 30 scouts.  The two pitchers lived up to the billing, but it was the defense of Golden West that allowed Saddleback to jump out to a big lead in cruising to the win.

The Rustlers committed a handful of errors for the big lefty, allowing Saddleback to score five unearned runs over the first four innings.  The big blow on offense for the baseball team came from Johnathan Behm, who hit one off the wall in the left field corner to score Danilo Tiotuico to give Saddleback a 1-0 lead.  The hit came on the heels of Tiotuico reaching base on an error from the Golden West shortstop. 

Saddleback scored four more times in the bottom half of the fourth inning, all unearned.  With two outs and Nation Wood on first base, Brent Riddle hit a line drive towards the second baseman who misplayed the ball to keep the inning alive.  Following a walk to Tiotuico, Tyler Declusin made the Rustlers pay with a single up the middle for a 3-0 lead.  Things then unraveled for Tiedermann, who hit Behm with a pitch to again load the bases.  David Le Bioda made Tiedermann pay with a single for a 5-0 lead. 

Meanwhile Armstrong was cruising, pitching into the sixth inning before getting into some trouble.  Armstrong finished with seven strikeouts through 5.1 innings of work before surrendering the hill to Ethan Holt.  Saddleback gave up a pair of runs in the inning following an error, but Holt was rock solid over the next 2.2 innings of work in holding onto the lead. 

The scouts in attendance had another change to take out their radar guns in the top half of the ninth inning when the baseball team put Hunter Cranton on the mound to pitch the final inning.  The 6-foot-3 right-hander was hitting 96 on the gun, striking out all three Rustlers he faced for his second save of the season. 

Saddleback is now 4-2 overall and 2-0 in Orange Empire Conference play after winning their third straight game.  Saddleback and Golden West will play a double-header tomorrow in Huntington Beach.  The first pitch is scheduled for 12:00 PM.