Cats claw back in the 951

The Saddleback baseball team opened the Orange Empire Conference schedule with an exciting 5-2 win at Riverside City College on Tuesday in Riverside.  The Bobcats struck for four runs in the top half of the ninth inning in beating the Tigers in the conference opener. 

Saddleback looked sluggish for most of the game, trailing 2-0 heading into the seventh inning despite a good outing on the mound from starter Connor Wilford.  The San Clemente High School product gave up just four hits through seven innings and had five strikeouts, but Riverside managed to bunch three of the hits together in the fifth for a 2-0 advantage.

Saddleback finally broke through in the top half of the seventh inning when Zachary Schwartzberg singled home Brent Riddle with two outs in the inning to cut the deficit in half.

Saddleback then worked some magic in the ninth inning and got some help from the Riverside pitching staff.  Riddle led off the inning with a single to left field and quickly stole second base to put the tying run 180-feet from home.  Lance Gardiner then laid down a bunt and the pitcher made a miscue, allowing Gardner to reach base while moving Riddle over to third base.  Tyler DeClusin then laid down a second solid bunt on a sacrifice, bringing home Riddle with the tying run while moving Gardner over to second base with the potential go-ahead run.

With two outs in the inning Saddleback received a couple of gifts from the Tiger pitching staff when Johnathan Behm and Jason Hefft both walked to load the bases.  The Bobcats made Riverside pay when Jordan Dissin (pictured) delivered a hit through the right side of the infield to score both Gardner and Behm for a 4-2 lead.  Saddleback tacked on another run when Cole Koniarsky came to the plate and singled home Hefft for a 5-2 advantage.

Saddleback then got ace reliever Arthur Liu off the bench to try and close out the game.  Liu surrendered a walk to start the inning, but then settled into a rhythm and retired the next three batters in order to pick up his third save of the season.

Riddle was the offensive star for Saddleback, finishing the day 3-for-4 with two runs-scored and a pair of stolen bases.  Joshua Meekins picked up the win after pitching the eighth inning to improve to 1-0 on the season.

Saddleback will continue the three-game series against Riverside City at home on Thursday.  The first pitch is scheduled for 2:00 PM at Doug Fritz Field.