Gaucho walk-off earns Saturday split

The Saddleback baseball team improved to 4-1 with an 8-7 win against Santa Barbara City College on Saturday night at Doug Fritz Field. Alex Zerfass singled with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to win the game.

Saddleback and Santa Barbara battled through two marathon games on Saturday, with both lasting over 3.5 hours.  The two teams went back and forth for most of the day, splitting the two games. 

Game one saw Santa Barbara score four times in the top of the ninth inning in snatching victory from the jaws of defeat with a 13-10 win.  Game two was Saddleback's turn as they rallied for a run in the bottom of the ninth to earn their fourth victory of the season.

In the opening game, Saddleback held a 5-0 lead heading to the fifth inning when Santa Barbara started to wake up.  The Vaqueros scored in each of the final five innings as the Gauchos couldn't keep them off the scoreboard.  In total, Saddleback burned through seven different pitchers in a regulation game that took three hours and 48 minutes.  The Gauchos held a 17-13 advantage in total hits, with Saddleback shortstop Carson Matthews (pictured) going 5-for-6 in the game.  Nonetheless, Santa Barbara kept peppering the right field wall, with three doubles, two triples and a home run that snuck inside the right field foul pole.  In the end, Santa Barbara held on for the win despite Saddleback having 17 hits, three walks, two hit batsmen and three errors from the Vaqueros. 

Game two had a similar feel as neither team was able to keep the other off the scoreboard for more than two consecutive innings.  Santa Barbara took a 4-0 lead over the first 2.5 innings before Saddleback woke up. 

Following a collision at first base between the Santa Barbara first baseman and a Gaucho runner, Saddleback rallied for four runs in the inning to tie the game.  Antonio Vultaggio started the rally with a double to right-center field in driving in Tyler Chaffee with the first run of the inning.  Nick Lopez followed with a single to drive in Vultaggio and the game was suddenly 4-2.  Santa Barbara's battery then had a three-minute meltdown as two wild pitches and a passed ball tied the game after Joseph Canty scored on a wild pitch to make it 4-4.

From that point forward the game was a total roller coaster.  Saddleback took the lead in the bottom half of the fourth inning when Vultaggio doubled home Alex Zerfass for a 5-4 lead.  Santa Barbara answered with a run in the top half of the fifth inning to tie the game.  Saddleback took a 7-5 lead in the bottom half of the sixth inning when Nick Lopez reached on an error, scoring both Chaffee and Zerfass.  Santa Barbara would again answer, scoring solo runs in the top of the seventh and ninth innings to tie the game at 7-7.

The game looked destined for extra innings in the bottom half of the ninth inning before Stone Shiffman walked with one out in the inning to start the rally.  Following a fly out from Matthews for the second out of the inning, Izaiah Faz then singled to right field as hope started to creep back into the Gaucho faithful left in the stands.  Saddleback then received some help from the Vaqueros when second baseman Zach Jensen bobbled what looked like a sure-fire final out of the game in allowing the Gauchos to load the bases.  Alex Zerfass then came to the plate with an opportunity to give Saddleback the win, and quickly found himself in a 0-2 count.  Zerfass then delivered with a sharp liner to right field to win the game, scoring Shiffman as the Gaucho dugout emptied on to the field.

Saddleback's heroic win gave them a 2-1 advantage in the three-game series against Santa Barbara and a 4-1 start to the 2020 campaign.   The Gauchos will play again at Palomar College on Wednesday before returning home to play Los Angeles Harbor College on Friday at 3:30 PM.