Gauchos rally past Olympians
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
San Diego Mesa | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 3 |
|
Saddleback | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | X | 11 | 11 | 0 |
The Saddleback baseball team picked up its 12th win of the season with an 11-7 victory over San Diego Mesa College on Tuesday at Doug Fritz Field. The Gauchos trailed 7-3 before rallying for the win.
Saddleback and San Diego Mesa traded blows through the first four innings before things settled down over the last half of the game. The Olympians took a 7-3 lead in the top half of the fourth inning after scoring three runs in both the third and fourth innings. Saddleback then made a statement, scoring five of their own in the bottom half of the inning in turning the tables.
Saddleback had five straight batters reach base to start the inning. Alex Zerfass started the inning by getting hit by a pitch before Tyler Chaffee singled for a good start to the inning. Antonio Vultaggio then doubled down the left field line, cutting the deficit to 7-4. Dylan Smith then provided the big blow when he hit a ball over the left-field wall that hit half way up the netting that protects the tennis courts to tie the game. It was Smith's (pictured) second home run in the past four games and the 11th home run of the year for the Gauchos after hitting only 10 all of last season.
Mesa then went to the bullpen and Brent Riddle greeted the new pitcher with a single to left field. Three batters later, Izaiah Faz drove him home with a sacrifice fly to center field and the Gauchos had an 8-7 lead.
From that point forward the Saddleback bullpen took control of the game. The combination of Bradon Carr and Ethan Holt silenced the Mesa bats the rest of the way. Carr pitched through the fifth inning to pick up the win before Holt pitched the final four innings in picking up his first save of the season. Holt surrendered just two hits over the final four innings while throwing only 41 pitches.
Saddleback improved to 12-3 with the win and have one more game remaining this week before entering Orange Empire Conference play next week. The Gauchos finish off the pre-conference schedule with a game at Glendale College on Thursday at 3:00 PM.