Baseball bounces back in Walnut

The Saddleback baseball team bounced back from an opening day loss on Tuesday with a 5-3 win at Mt. San Antonio College on Thursday afternoon in Walnut.  Saddleback took the lead in the seventh inning and never looked back.

Saddleback fans were wondering how the team would respond after a disappointing loss on Tuesday when the team surrendered nine runs in the final two innings after leading for the majority of the game.  It turns out the kids have short memories as they had solid pitching and timely hitting in evening their record at 1-1.

Saddleback broke open a 2-2 tie in the top half of the seventh inning when Tyler Chaffee (pictured) singled home both David Le Bioda and Luc Stuka to give Saddleback a 4-2 lead.  It was Chaffee's second hit of the game as he finished 2-for-4 with three RBI and a walk.  The baseball team would extend the lead to 5-2 in the top half of the ninth inning when Nation Wood blasted a ball off the left-center field wall to score Antonino Vultaggio for a 5-2 lead.

Saddleback's pitching was solid throughout.  Scott Armstrong started and went five innings in his first start of the season, giving up just one earned run while striking out seven.  Ryan Farmer then came in and pitched two solid innings in picking up his first win of the season.  Hunter Cranton came on in the eighth inning and breezed through the inning before getting into a jam in the ninth inning.  With the bases loaded and one out, Cranton then got a slow roller to second and a pop out to end the inning in picking up his first save of the season. 

Saddleback is now 1-1 on the season and will have a double-header with Mt. SAC on Friday at Doug Fritz Field.  The first game is scheduled for 12 PM and is a scheduled seven-inning contest.  The late game is scheduled for 3:00 PM.  The games can be viewed on the Saddleback Athletics YouTube Channel.  Live Stats will also be provided throughout.