Neeley silences Lasers for key win

The Saddleback baseball team picked up a huge win on Friday with a 12-2 decision over Irvine Valley College at Doug Fritz Field.  Eric Neeley and the pitching staff were brilliant, holding the Lasers to one hit.

Neeley pitched 7.2 strong innings, giving up one hit while striking out four and walking one.  He left with two outs in the eighth inning with the Gauchos in control, 12-1.  Neeley improved to 3-1 on the season with the win, lowering his season ERA to 3.91.  He gave way to Kyle Goodbrand and Jordan Scheftz, who slammed the door on the Lasers.

Saddleback scored in six of the first seven innings, including four in the fifth inning and four more in the seventh.  Dan James and Brett Barker led the offensive onslaught as the Gauchos rapped out 14 hits on the day.  James was 2-for-4, hitting his team-leading fifth home run of the season with two men on base in the fifth.  Barker finished 3-for-3 to up his team-leading batting average to .361.

With two games remaining, Saddleback (22-12, 9-10) is now in a three-way tie for fourth place in Orange Empire Conference play with both Riverside and Fullerton.  The Gauchos open a difficult two-game set with third place Orange Coast College on Tuesday at home.  The first pitch is scheduled for 2:00 PM.