Gauchos wax the bees in game two

The Saddleback baseball team improved to 2-0 in Orange Empire Conference play with an 11-2 win against Fullerton College on Thursday at Doug Fritz Field.  Pitcher Matt Comnos carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning in picking up the win. 

Comnos was making just his second start of the season and looked like a guy that had been doing it for years.  He no-hit the Hornets for 5.1 innings before Tyler Becker broke up the no-no bid with a single to center field.  Comnos finished out the inning, striking out 11 Fullerton batters in his start and improving to 2-1 on the season.

Saddleback scored seven runs in the opening inning as Fullerton starter Brian Marquez couldn't find the strike zone.  The Gauchos chased Marquez after just two-thirds of an inning...scoring seven runs on only three hits.  Saddleback took advantage of two errors, four walks and three passed balls in the inning, sending 12 batters to the plate.  Marquez was replaced by Jacob Baca, who was promptly greeted with a single to right field by Ryan Thibert for the final two runs of the inning. 

Demitri Colacchio and Zack Bowman both collected three hits on the day as Saddleback outhit the Hornets 13-5.  Bowman reached base in all five plate appearances, going 3-for-3 with two walks and two RBI.

Comnos was replaced in the seventh inning as the Gauchos gave Travis Willis, Noah Moya and Jacob Bogacz each an inning of work.  Saddleback pitchers finished with 14 strikeouts on the day, marking the ninth time this season that Gaucho pitchers have finished in double-digits. 

Saddleback is now 12-5 overall and 2-0 in Orange Empire Conference play following the win.  The Gauchos and Hornets will finish out the three-game series on Saturday in Fullerton.  Game time is scheduled for 12:00 PM.