Jo-Jo provides mojo in blowout win

The Saddleback baseball team improved to 10-2 on the season with a blowout, 21-3 win against Chaffey College on Friday at Doug Fritz Field.  Leadoff hitter Jo-Jo Quintanilla reached base in his first six at-bats as the Gauchos had 19 hits and 12 walks.

Saddleback fell behind 3-2 in the top of the fourth inning when Chaffey rallied for three runs following a couple of squandered opportunities for the Gauchos at the plate.  It would be the last time Saddleback would waste any opportunities, outscoring the Panthers 19-0 the rest of the way.

Quintanilla was a constant thorn in the side of Chaffey, finishing 3-for-4 with four runs-scored and reaching base in his first six at-bats.  He led off the bottom of the first inning by swinging at the first pitch and driving it to left field for a single.  Later in the inning he would score on a wild pitch for the opening run of the game. 

Quintanilla was hit by a pitch in the second inning and walked in the fourth, only to be driven home by Brett Auerbach on a two-run double to left-center field as Saddleback reclaimed the lead with five runs in the bottom half of the inning.  He then came up with runners at the corners in the bottom half of the fifth inning and delivered a single for an 8-3 lead.

Quintanilla wasn't finished as Saddleback sent 14 batters to the plate in the bottom half of the sixth inning.  He was walked again by the Panther pitching staff and later came home to score when Turner Knight was hit by a pitch for the 13^th run of the game.  Quintanilla then led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a double to left-center field and later scored on a passed ball.  Chaffey finally retired Quintanilla in the eighth inning when he hit a solid ball to left field that was run down by the left-fielder.

Saddleback collected 12 walks from the Chaffey pitching staff, with Jordan Fitzgerald walking four times.  Connor Glenn also had a big day at the plate for the Gauchos, finishing 3-for-4 including a ground-rule double to right-center field that stated the nine-run rally in the fifth inning.

Bradley Spooner started the game and battled through one rocky inning, pitching five innings to pick up the win.  Spooner struck out six while improving to 2-0 on the season.  Zak Herbers, Nick Hernandez, Zak Nocon and Dylan Baird all pitched one scoreless inning apiece in relief.

Saddleback improved to 10-2 on the season and will now head on the road for five straight games.  The Gauchos will play at San Diego Mesa College next Tuesday at 2:00 PM and then at Southwestern College on Thursday at 2:00 PM.