Gauchos edge Panthers for 8-0 start

The Saddleback baseball team won its eighth straight game to start the 2016 campaign, defeating Chaffey College 6-5 in Rancho Cucamonga.  The Gaucho offense connected for 12 hits while the bullpen remained solid.

Saddleback took a 4-0 lead in the fourth inning when they generated runs with four hits, a hit batsmen and a stolen base.  The big blow was a two-run double by Jared Donahoe, who continues to swing a hot bat during the early part of the season.

Chaffey answered with four runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning as starter Jordan Scheftz gave up three hits and a walk to start the inning.  Scheftz gave way to Stephen Young, who quickly gave up a walk before getting a double-play to limit the damage.  Two batters later he was lifted after a passed ball and walk as Logan Escudero came on to see if he could get the Gauchos out of the inning.  Escudero walked the first batter he faced, but then got Aaron McCann to strike out, preserving a 4-4 tie after four innings.

Chaffey took a 5-4 lead in the bottom half of the fifth inning, taking advantage of a leadoff single by Cody Palmer, who promptly stole second base and later advanced to third on a passed ball.  Palmer eventually scored on a sacrifice fly, giving the Panthers a 5-4 after five innings.

The Gauchos quickly responded as Donahoe would even the score with a towering home run in the top of the sixth inning.  It was one of three hits on the day for Donahoe, who is now hitting .633 for the year with a team-leading three home runs and 12 RBI.  He now leads the state in average, home runs, on-base percentage and slugging percentage through eight games. 

Saddleback's bullpen went back to work, stifling the Chaffey offense over the final 4.1 innings.  Daniel Endsley surrendered just one hit through 3.1 innings of work to pick up his first win of the season.  Endsley retired 9-of-10 batters he faced, giving the Gaucho offense a chance to generate a go-ahead run.

The two teams entered the ninth inning tied at 5-5.  With one out in the top half of the inning, Luke Jarvis walked to give Saddleback some life.  Jarvis then stole second to put the potential go-ahead in scoring position.  Ryan Fitzpatrick followed with a fly-out to right field, as Jarvis tagged and advanced to third with two outs.  Brandon Heinrich then delivered the big hit with a single to score Jarvis, giving the Gauchos a 6-5 lead with ace reliever Domnique Key warming up in the bullpen.

Key came on and got a ground out and strikeout to start the inning, putting Chaffey in a tough position.  The Panthers received late life when Palmer singled, but an easy grounder to Kent Burckle ended the game, giving Saddleback a third straight come-from-behind victory. 

Saddleback (8-0) will attempt to continue its winning ways on Thursday when it hosts Glendale College (7-0) at Doug Fritz Field.  Both teams enter the contest with undefeated records with the first pitch scheduled for 3:00 PM.