Saddleback struggles on sophomore day

It was sophomore day at Saddleback for the two Gauchos who were playing in their final home game on the college campus.  As an act of sportsmanship, Saddleback also recognized the 10 sophomores on the Santiago Canyon College roster who were playing their final regular-season game.  The variance in the sophomores proved to be the difference on the scoreboard as Santiago Canyon posted an 8-0 victory over Saddleback.

The Hawks' Josie Tucker and Morgan McGee each finished 2-for-3 at the plate with each lady connecting on a home run in the third inning.  Terry-Lee Rahe and Krystal Hoham each picked up doubles for the Hawks.

Saddleback, which has averaged nine hits per game, was limited to two hits by Rahe (3.1 innings) and Tucker (1.2 innings) in honor of its two sophomores.  Sophomore catcher Kelsey Hodge (pictured) cracked a one-out triple in the bottom of the third inning and kid sister Jordan Hodge added a two-out single up the middle in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Rahe picked up the victory for the Hawks while Saddleback's Syd Abounassar absorbed the loss.

Santiago Canyon (30-9 overall, 14-7 in OEC) finished third in the Orange Empire Conference standings and Saddleback (22-14, 11-10) will finish either tied for fourth place or in fifth place.  Both teams will await the results of the playoff seeding committee this weekend to determine their post-season fates.