Bobcats win fifth straight

The Saddleback baseball team won its fifth straight game with an 8-1 victory over Southwestern College on Thursday at Doug Fritz Field.  Arthur Liu improved to 3-0 on the season on the mound.

Saddleback opened up a 2-0 lead in the bottom half of the first inning when the Bobcats scraped out four hits in the inning.  Saddleback then increased the lead to 5-0 in the bottom half of the third inning, taking advantage of a few defensive miscues by the Jaguars.  Jack Collins finished off the scoring in the third when he singled home Ben Castelli for a 5-0 advantage.  It was one of three hits on the day for Collins, who finished 3-for-3 with a walk in the game. 

Saddleback put the game away in the bottom half of the sixth inning when they scored twice to take a 7-1 lead.  The Bobcats had hits from Michael Davinni and Cole Koniarsky in the inning, who came home to score on a wild pitch and passed ball, respectively. 

Saddleback started Arthur Liu on the hill and Liu was effective through seven innings before turning the ball over to the bullpen.  Liu struck out six while walking none in improving to 3-0 on the season.  Nathan Helman and Tommy Di Landri both pitched an inning of work in mop-up duty. 

Saddleback's errorless streak finally came to an end in the top half of the ninth inning after playing 47 straight innings of errorless ball in the field.

Saddleback is now 6-1 to start the season.  The Bobcats will have the weekend off before traveling to Southwestern College next Tuesday.  The first pitch is scheduled for 2:00 PM in Chula Vista.