Liu ties up Rustlers

The Saddleback baseball team snapped a two-game losing streak with a 3-2 win over Golden West College on Tuesday at Doug Fritz Field.  Arthur Liu improved to 6-1 on the season.

Liu was his normal self, limiting opportunities while overpowering opposing batters.  He pitched through the seventh inning, surrendering just two hits before leaving with a 3-1 lead.  Liu struck out eight in the process and now has a team-high 53 strikeouts through 49 innings of work for the year.

Saddleback took a 3-0 lead in the bottom half of the first inning.  The Bobcats had four straight hits with two outs in the inning to take an early lead.  Jason Hefft tripled home Isaiah Morales with the opening run of the game.  J.C. Allen then doubled to left-center field for a 2-0 lead.  Zachary Schwartzberg then singled home Allen with the third run of the inning, which would be all of the runs the Bobcats would need.

Morales finished 2-for-3 with a walk while Hefft finished 2-for-4 on the afternoon to lead the offense.

Saddleback is now 19-6 overall and 7-3 in Orange Empire Conference play following the win.  The Bobcats moved into a tie for second place with Cypress College after the Chargers fell to Riverside City College, 12-8, on Tuesday.

Saddleback and Golden West resume the three-game series at Golden West on Thursday.  The first pitch is scheduled for 2:00 PM.