Bobcats rally late for 4-0 start
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Moorpark | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 12 | 1 |
|
Saddleback | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | X | 9 | 10 | 1 |
The Saddleback baseball team improved to 4-0 with a 9-7 win over Moorpark College on Friday at Doug Fritz Field. Cole Koniarsky's two-run single in the eighth inning provided the difference in the game.
Saddleback and Moorpark went back and forth all afternoon long. The two teams traded the lead four times, with the Bobcats finally getting the best of the Raiders late in the game.
Saddleback entered the bottom half of the eighth inning trailing 7-6. With the opening batter being retired, Brent Riddle evened the game at 7-7 with his first home run of the season over the left-center field fence. Danilo Tiotuico then singled to put the go-ahead runner on base with one out in the inning. With two outs in the inning, Michael Davinni snuck a ball in between the first baseman and the bag that rolled all the way into the corner. Unfortunately, the ball was called a ground rule double after getting tangled in one of the palm trees located in the corner of the field. With runners on second and third base, Cole Koniarsky then provided the big blow when he drove a ball up the middle for a single, scoring both Tiotuico and Davinni for a 9-7 lead.
Saddleback then brought in Ben Peters to try and shut down Moorpark in the top of the ninth inning. Peters walked the first batter, but then struck out a batter for the first out of the inning. Peters then surrendered a single to give the Raiders two runners on base. Fortunately, the next batter hit a sharp ground ball to second base and the Bobcats turned a 4-6-3 double play to end the game.
Saddleback had 10 hits in the game, with Davinni, Luc Stuka, Tyler DeClusin and Brent Riddle all collecting two hits apiece.
Wilson Hall entered in the top half of the eighth inning and retired the final two outs of the inning in picking up his first win of the year. Peters recorded his first save of the season in finishing off the Raiders in the ninth.
Saddleback is now 4-0 on the season. The Bobcats will host Chaffey College tomorrow at 1:00 PM.