Gauchos sweep past Vaqueros for 5-0 start

The Saddleback baseball team is off to a hot start for the 2016 campaign and kept the mojo rolling on Saturday by taking two games from a program that made it to the regional finals last season.  The Gauchos defeated Santa Barbara 7-1 and 9-1 at Doug Fritz Field to remain perfect for the season.

Through five games this season the Saddleback pitching staff is sitting on a microscopic 1.00 ERA.  That was on display on Saturday when they gave up two runs in two games, with only one of the runs being earned.  The Gaucho staff struck out 18 batters in the double-dip, surrendering just 12 hits while walking five. 

Game one was tied at 1-1 heading into the bottom of the fourth inning when Saddleback struck for a pair of runs.  Brandon Heinrich started the rally with a triple to center field before Jared Donahoe singled for a 3-1 lead.  Erik Voller would later single with two outs to drive in Donahoe and the Gauchos would have all the runs they needed.

The big blow in the game came in the seventh inning when Saddleback loaded the bases with a couple of walks and a hit.  The Gaucho coaching staff then opted to pinch hit, with Adam Gordon stepping in for Robbie Biehl.  Gordon delivered with a grand slam to right-center field, essentially putting the game out of reach for Santa Barbara.

Meanwhile, Cameron Aufderheide and Jackson Rees were busy dissecting the Vaquero offense.  Aufderheide pitched five innings to improve to 2-0 on the season before Rees took over in the sixth.  The two combined for seven strikeouts while walking just two, with the only run of the game for Santa Barbara coming after a defensive error in the second inning.

Game two started in a similar fashion with Saddleback scoring solo runs in the first and second innings for a 2-0 lead.  Santa Barbara closed the gap to 2-1 in the top of the fifth inning, but the threat was short-lived as the Gauchos responded with two runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning.  Luke Jarvis singled home Kyle Candalla, who had opened the inning with a triple to left-center field.  Jarvis (pictured) would later come home on a wild pitch, giving Saddleback a 4-1 lead and some insurance room.

Saddleback scored at least one run in every inning from that point forward, scoring one in the sixth, three in the seventh and one more in the eighth for a 9-1 lead.  Jarvis was again in the idle of the action in the eighth when he tripled to right field to score Kent Burkle for his third hit of the game.

Saddleback used a combination of five pitchers in game two.  John Sheaks started and pitched four innings before giving way to Michael Carr.  He (Carr) started quickly with a strikeout, but then got into some trouble forcing the Gauchos staff to go to the bullpen.  Logan Escudero was inserted and briskly got Saddleback out of a jam, striking out the first man he faced and then getting an easy grounder to second base to end the inning.  It was the beginning of perfection for the Gauchos, as Santa Barbara failed to have a man reach base for the rest of the game.  The final 14 batters for the Vaqueros were silenced as Escudero, Daniel Endsley, Brandon Helmick and Chase Lyford all had perfect innings of relief. 

The win puts Saddleback at 5-0 for the season, which is a quickest start for the Gauchos since starting 6-0 in 2013.  Saddleback will play back-to-back games at home this week when they entertain Cuesta College on Thursday and Friday.  The first pitch on Thursday is scheduled for 2:00 PM.