Gauchos leave Mounties Spinning

The Saddleback baseball team rallied for a 13-4 win against Mt. San Antonio College on Saturday at Doug Fritz Field.  The Gauchos made third base look like a turnstile, scoring nine times in the eighth inning in forcing a final game on Sunday.

Saddleback fell behind early when Mt. San Antonio scored a trio of runs in the bottom half of the third inning after the Gauchos committed a costly error.  Saddleback battled their way back into the game, chipping away with two runs in the fourth inning and another solo run in the fifth to tie the game.

The momentum changed midway through the contest when Saddleback coach Sommer McCartney was tossed from the game for chirping at the umpire.  It sparked the Gaucho lineup and woke up the bats, providing additional enthusiasm in what was nearly a full house inside the stadium.  It also woke up a Saddleback pitching staff that had surrendered 17 hits over the first 12 innings of the series. 

On a day when there was a royal wedding going on in the United Kingdom, the main prince for Saddleback on Saturday was left-handed reliever Chase Spinning.  The sophomore entered the game in the sixth inning in relief of Daniel Harris and pitched the rest of the way in improving to 3-0 on the season.  Spinning limited the Mt. SAC to just two hits over the final four innings, striking out nine Mounties and giving the Gauchos some much-needed relief. 

Mt. San Antonio carried a 4-3 lead into the eighth inning when Saddleback busted out the bats.  The Gauchos were in the batter's box for nearly 45 minutes, sending 12 guys to the plate in turning a close game into a route.  Saddleback had seven hits in the inning and two walks, with Riley Kasper capping the rally with a two-run triple to left field for a 12-4 lead. 

Saddleback finished with 18 hits in the game, 10 of which came in the final three innings.  Mike Jarvis and Connor Glenn had four hits and three RBI apiece while Kasper reached base four times.  Mt. San Antonio added insult to injury by committing four errors in the game, making for a long afternoon as the game lasted three hours and 51 minutes.   In total, Mt. San Antonio pitchers through 215 pitches in the game while Saddleback pitchers through 156.

Saddleback (33-13) and Mt. San Antonio (34-12) will play the final game of the series tomorrow at Doug Fritz Field, with the winner moving on to the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) State Tournament next weekend.  Game time is scheduled for 12:00 pm with a large crowd expected.