Gauchos dominate Knights for 2-0 start

The Saddleback baseball team blasted San Diego City College, 9-0, on Saturday in San Diego.  The Gauchos belted out 17 hits while the pitching was nearly flawless in improving to 2-0.

Saddleback scored three run in the top of the second in taking a 3-0 lead.  It would be all the runs they would need as the pitching rotation of Cameron Aufderheide, Jackson Rees and Daniel Endsley silenced the San Diego City lineup.

Kyle Candalla led off the scoring with a two-run double to right field before Andrew Wilson singled him home for a 3-0 lead.  The two would combine for seven hits on the day, with Wilson finishing 4-for-5.  It was also a second-straight big game for Jared Donahoe, who finished 4-for-5 with two more RBI.    Candalla is now 6-for-8 with five RBI to start the season while Donahoe has also reached base six times in two games.

Saddleback scored single runs in the fourth, sixth and seventh innings before exploding for three more runs in the eighth.  Brandon Helmick led off the scoring by getting hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to run the score to 7-0.  Donahoe then followed with a two-run single, scoring both Luke Jarvis and Wilson.

Aufderheide looked sharp on the hill, retiring the first five batters of the game.  He would pitch five innings to pick up the win, striking out two and surrendering two hits.  The bullpen was nails, with Rees giving up one hit over three innings and Endsley retiring the Knights in order in the ninth. 

Saddleback is now 2-0 after the win on Saturday.  The Gauchos will play again on the road on Thursday when they travel to Mt. San Jacinto College.  Game time is set for 2:00 PM.