Gauchos hop past Reedley in Easter Classic

The Saddleback baseball team opened its annual, three-day hop through the Central Valley at the Eater Classic with a 13-7 win over Reedley College.  Alex King was the star as the Gauchos had 15 hits on the day.

Saddleback and Reedley pounded the ball all afternoon, combining for 30 hits in a marathon that lasted more than three hours.  Nobody was more of a Tiger-killer than King, who finished 4-for-4 with six RBI in the win.  In his first at-bat in the second inning, King walked and stole second base before scoring on an RBI single by Ryan Fitzpatrick.  In the fourth inning King doubled down the right field line to score Cole Stanton to give Saddleback a 3-1 lead.  King's biggest blast came in the sixth inning when he blasted a two-run homer to right field to give the Gauchos a 6-3 lead.  King gave Saddleback an 8-6 lead in the eighth inning when he singled home Dan James after James reached base on a fielding error by Reedley.  He capped off his afternoon with a single through the left side of the infield in the ninth inning as the Gauchos piled on five insurance runs in what had previously been a close game.

In reaching base all five times, King saw his season average jump from .297 to .330 and he now leads the team in average for the year.  His third home run of the season also ties him for the team lead.

Saddleback (16-10) will continue the Easter Classic today at College of the Sequoias.  The first pitch is scheduled for 1:00 PM.