Baseball win has Gauchos in second place

The Saddleback baseball team moved into second place in the Orange Empire Conference standings with an 8-1 win over Riverside City College on Thursday afternoon at Doug Fritz Field.  Gaucho pitching was stellar, surrendering just three hits on the day.

Saddleback opened the conference season last Saturday with a loss and was looking to bounce back this week with the final two games of a three-game set against Riverside.  The Gauchos did just that, winning the final two games with the win on Thursday.

Saddleback opened the scoring in the bottom of the second inning when Ryan Fitzpatrick doubled home Dallas Dey with the opening run of the game.  The Gauchos scored two more in the fourth inning when Riverside allowed two unearned runs on a throwing error, something that plagued them during the previous meeting on Tuesday.  It would be all the runs the Gauchos would need as the pitching completely tied the Tigers in knots.

Jackson Rees started the game and pitched seven innings of two-hit ball.  The big right-hander out of Laguna Beach struck out four while walking two and exited with the Gauchos out front, 7-1.   The lone run against Rees (pictured) was unearned after a Gaucho defensive error in the fifth inning.

Jordan Scheftz and Daniel Endsley finished off Riverside by giving up one hit over the final two innings and striking out two.  The game ended when Saddleback turned a double-play, giving Gaucho fans joy in knowing they had just moved into second place in the conference standings.

Saddleback (12-3) is now 2-1 in the OEC and tied with Santa Ana and Cypress, one game back of Fullerton.  The Gauchos will start a three-game set with Irvine Valley College on Saturday.  The first pitch is scheduled for 12:00 PM at IVC.