Gauchos to host Bakersfield in baseball regionals (preview)
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Bakersfield | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 4 |
|
Saddleback | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 7 | 11 | 0 |
The Saddleback baseball team found out it would be hosting a regional over the weekend, and now has a difficult task of playing a Bakersfield team that was once rated as high as No. 3 in Southern California during the course of the season. The Gauchos and Renegades met once this season and open the playoffs on Friday.
Saddleback figured it had a 50/50 chance of opening the playoffs at home when it went to the Southern California seed meeting on Sunday, but never figured to be seeded as high as No. 3 overall in the southern half of the state. Now that they have the politics out of the way, they can get down to business with a Bakersfield team that has a lot of talent.
The Gauchos and Renegades met in a classic earlier in the year as Saddleback outdueled Bakersfield 1-0 in a game that lasted just one hour and 45 minutes. Evan Manarino pitched a one-hitter for the Gauchos while the offense scraped across a run in the second inning and made it stick. The lone hit of the day for Bakersfield came from catcher Justin Martinez (pictured below), who is one of the top offensive threats on the team.
Saddleback and Bakersfield are very similar on paper, as they both have solid pitching and swing for the fences. The Renegades have a quartet of freshmen in outfielders Kyle Nixon and Cole Hallum along with second baseman Erik Williams and Martinez. Sophomore first baseman Blaine Ontiveras is another weapon for a Bakersfield lineup that hits .307 as a team. The Renegades have a lofty .430 slugging percentage, led by both Martinez and Williams with identical .507 slugging percentages. If there is a drawback to their "swing hard in case you hit it" mentality, it was the 257 strikeouts that came with it. Bakersfield was also careless at times on the base paths, getting caught stealing 25 times during the course of the season.
Saddleback was a bit less potent on offense, playing in a conference dominated by pitching. The Gauchos finished the regular season with a .271 batting average, hitting 16 home runs with a .391 slugging percentage. Saddleback manufactured runs the old fashion way, getting on base and making good on 56-of-68 steal attempts during the season. Freshman Brandon Cody had a sensational finish for the Gauchos, tying for the state lead with eight home runs while batting .333 for the season. Cody had a thunderous .706 slugging percentage, also finishing with nine doubles and seven triples. Josh Fuentes (pictured) was another major weapon for Saddleback, batting .306 for the season with three home runs and 25 RBI. Fuentes was one of the catalysts on the base paths, stealing 14-of-15 bases for the season.
On the mound, Bakersfield was a sophomore-dominated lineup in 2013, as 35 of their 36 starts were from second-year players. Bakersfield finished with a team ERA of 3.66, striking out 203 batters in 320 innings of work. Lefty Darian Nunn was the hard-luck loser against Saddleback in their only meeting of the year, but finished 4-2 on the season with a 3.45 ERA. Brad Lindsey is another probable starter for the Renegades after finishing 5-3 with a team-leading 2.89 ERA. Ryan Stapp was very effective in his 13 appearance fore the year, finishing 5-0 with a 3.66 ERA. Another option on the hill for Bakersfield is lefty Justin Kelly, who finished 5-5 with a 4.66 ERA. The likely closer for the Renegades is Logan Campbell, who had five saves during the season with a 3.45 ERA.
The story of the year for Saddleback was pitching, as the Gauchos had the fourth lowest ERA in the state in 2013 at 2.45. Saddleback pitchers allowed just two home runs the entire season, recording five shutouts. Gaucho pitchers were even better down the stretch, finishing with a 2.25 ERA in conference play, led by ace lefty Evan Manarino. The crafty southpaw pitched 98.1 innings on the season, striking out 50 as opponents batted just .203 for the season. Manarino had four of the five complete games for Saddleback, pitching two shutouts. Freshman Tyler Brashears was nearly his equal down the stretch, finishing 7-2 with a 1.67 ERA for the year. Brashears struck out 59 in 75.2 innings, winning his last six starts while giving up no earned-runs over his last 35 innings of work. Freshman closer Anthony Shew was brilliant in 2013, finishing 2-0 with four saves and a perfect 0.00 ERA for the season. Shew struck out 13 in 17 innings of work, allowing only one un-earned run for the season.
Saddleback was 25-11 overall and 12-9 in Orange Empire Conference play. The Gauchos finished in third place in the OEC, and was 1-1 against Western States South Division programs. Bakersfield finished 24-12 on the season and 16-8 in conference play (3rd place). The Renegades were 1-1 against Orange Empire Conference programs in 2013.
Saddleback and Bakersfield will open the playoffs on Friday at Doug Fritz Field. The first pitch is scheduled for 2:00 PM. Game two of the best-of-three series will be on Saturday at 11:00 AM. A third game would follow, if necessary.