For the first time in 15 years the Saddleback baseball program will host the Southern California Super Regional Tournament, starting Friday.  The Gauchos will welcome College of the Canyons, Mt. San Antonio College and Cypress College to town in a double-elimination tournament for the rights to play in the state tournament in Fresno on May 17-19.

Saddleback (27-11) advanced to the Super Regional with consecutive wins over Bakersfield College on Friday (7-2) and Saturday (7-4).  The Gauchos finished in third place in the Orange Empire Conference and started regional play as the No. 3 seed in the south.  Saddleback will open with Canyons (24-14), who advanced to the Super Regional with two straight wins over San Bernadino Valley College on Friday (7-0) and Saturday (3-2).  The Cougars finished in second place in the Western State South Division and started regional play as the No. 13 seed.  Saddleback and Canyons are scheduled to start at 5:00 PM on Friday.

The opening game of the regional features Mt. San Antonio College versus Cypress College at 11:00 AM.  Mt. SAC (28-11) opened regional play as the No. 5 seed in Southern California and defeated Mt. San Jacinto College in two-of-three games on Friday (3-4) and Saturday (8-0, 10-3).  The Mounties were the champions of the South Coast Conference, finishing 16-5 in SCC play.  Cypress (25-13) is a longtime conference rival of Saddleback and took two straight games from Cuesta College on Friday (8-3) and Saturday (5-0).  The Chargers finished in fourth place in the Orange Empire Conference and entered regional play as the No. 9 seed.

Canyons Cougars

(24-14)

The Cougars enter the tournament red hot, winning six of their past seven games.  Canyons is very dangerous on offense, as they have hit more home runs than any team in the state this season (19).  The Cougars hit .298 as a team, led by catcher Alex Bishop (.428) (pictured).  He also leads the team in triples (5) and doubles (13) and ranks fourth in the state in slugging percentage (.599). Third baseman Trey Williams and designated hitter Kevin Lenik lead Canyons with five home runs apiece while shortstop Chad DeLaGuera leads the team with 33 RBI for the season. 

The Cougar pitching staff has a very solid duo in Ryan Cruz and Steven Farnworth.  Cruz is 7-1 on the season with a 2.55 ERA while Farnworth is 7-2 with a 3.76 ERA.  Both pitchers have started 12 games this season with one shutout.  As a whole, the Canyons staff has a 3.53 ERA as a team, good enough for 30^th in the state.  The Cougars are very patient at the plate with 150 walks on the season, but currently sit in dead last in the state in stolen bases (12).  The Canyons defense had some issues throughout the season, ranking 69th in fielding percentage and 47th in double plays turned.

Mt. San Antonio Mounties

(28-11)

The Mounties have one of the better small-ball clubs around as they have scored the third most runs in the state this season (273) and have the No. 3 on-base-percentage (.398) while hitting just seven home runs.  Mt. SAC is dangerous on the base paths in stealing 61 bases for the year, and is No. 9 in the state with 97 extra-base hits.  They have five players in the starting lineup hitting over .300 for the year, led by freshman outfielder Caleb Romo (.376).  Pitcher Cameron Pongs also doubles as a DH, and leads the team with four home runs on the season while batting .308.  Outfielder Dwight Tardy is a catalyst, stealing a team-leading 26 bases in 29 attempts while batting .300 for the season.  Steven Mancilla (pictured) leads the team with 48 RBI for the season while batting .336 for the year. 

The Mountie pitching staff is also very effective, allowing only two home runs for the season with a team ERA of 3.34.  Mt. SAC pitchers are second in the state with 8.27 strikeouts per-nine innings, but if there is a weakness it is giving up 156 walks for the season, which ranks No. 76 in the state.  The Mounties feature a trio of solid starters in Jerry Flores, Derrick Penilla and the aforementioned Pongs.  Flores also serves as the closer and finished the season 9-3 with three saves and a team-leading 1.93 ERA.  Penilla pitched the most innings on the team (83.1) and finished 6-3 wit a 2.27 ERA, striking out 10.04 batters per nine innings.  Pongs finished the season 6-3 with a 3.62 ERA.

Cypress Chargers

(25-13)

The Chargers are very similar to Mt. SAC in that they have only hit three home runs on the season but peck away at opponents with a lineup that hits .296 as a team and creates a lot of havoc on the base paths.  Cypress has the most stolen bases of any team in the regional with 63, led by shortstop Dylan Moore (19) (pictured).  Outfielder Brandon Morones leads the team with a .378 batting average, followed closely by outfielder Jonathan Torres (.346) and utility player Blake Davey (.336).  Second baseman Parker Starr leads the team with 25 RBI on the season while third baseman Robert Chavarria bats .325 for the season and leads the team in both doubles (9) and bases on balls (19). 

Cypress pitchers have been very good in 2013 and rank No. 18 in the state with a 3.12 ERA.  The Chargers struck out 7.04 batter-per-game and allowed only six home runs for the season.  Ace pitcher Stephen Kane is a rising star, finishing 12-0 on the season with a team-leading 1.97 ERA and 80 strikeouts in 91.1 innings.  Bryson Kauhaahaa pitched the second most innings on the team (69.2), finishing 3-2 with a 3.75 ERA.  Lefty Ryan Hartman was also a regular part of the rotation down the stretch, finishing 3-2 with an impressive 2.36 ERA.  Darren Gidley is the likely closer for Cypress, as he led the team with two saves on the season while striking out 26 batter in 28.1 innings of work.  The Chargers are also very good in the field, as they have the highest fielding percentage of any of the four teams in the regional (.964) and rank No. 13 in the state. 

Saddleback Gauchos

(27-11)

The Gauchos can beat you in many ways on offense, as they can hit the long ball yet have very good speed on the bases.  Saddleback doesn't have the lofty batting averages as the other teams in the field at .272 for the season, but is third in the state in home runs (18), third in the state in extra base hits (110) and 20^th in stolen bases (58).  Freshman outfielder Brandon Cody (pictured) leads the state with nine home runs on the season, six of which came in the last 12 games.  Cody leads the team with a .333 batting average and is also tied for the state lead in slugging percentage (.704).  Shortstop Josh Fuentes has been a consistent threat for the Gauchos all season, batting .308 and making good on 14-of-15 stolen base attempts while leading the team with 28 RBI.  Second baseman Jeffery Butler and third baseman Brian Romero have identical .362 on-base percentages, as Butler leads the team with 16 stolen bases while Romero leads the team with 20 bases-on-balls. 

Despite the offensive numbers, it is the pitching staff that has led Saddleback all season.  Ace pitchers Evan Manarino and Tyler Brashears have been stellar all season, making up one of the better 1-2 punches in the state.  Manarino finished the season 10-1 with a team-leading 1.53 ERA for the season, allowing only one home run in 106 innings of work.  Brashears was his equal down the stretch, finishing 8-2 with a 1.98 ERA.  At one point, Brashears worked 35 straight innings without giving up an earned run and finished with a team-leading 65 strikeouts for the year.  The bullpen work was sensational, as closer Anthony Shew finished the season 2-0 with five saves and a perfect 0.00 ERA in 19 innings of work.  After some rough patches on defense during the early part of the season, the Gauchos improved greatly down the stretch, finishing with a .959 fielding percentage.  They also have turned more double plays than any team in the tournament with 40. 

For those that cannot make it to the tournament, the games can be heard on Saddleback's own KSBR Radio via audio webcast.  Updates will also be posted on Twitter by the Gaucho Dude @SCGauchos. 

Ticket prices for te regional are $8 for general admission and $5 for senior citizens, military personnel and children from ages 5-12.  Children under five are free.

The last time Saddleback hosted a Super Regional was 1998, when they advanced to the state tournament and eventually lost in the state title game to Sacramento City College.  The catalyst for the Gauchos in 1998 was Nick Punto, who currently plays for the Los Angeles Dodgers after stints with the Phillies, Twins, Cardinals and Red Sox.