Baseball keeps rolling with seventh straight

The Saddleback baseball team won its seventh straight game on Thursday with a 5-1 decision at Orange Coast College.  The Gauchos received another stellar performance from the pitching staff in turning back the two-time, defending state champs.

Saddleback is in search of its first Orange Empire Conference title since 1998 and just its second since 1984. The 2016 Gauchos feature the No. 7 hitting team in the state and No. 4 pitching staff, giving them a great combination to get it done.  First things first, they know they need to take care of business "one game at a time" if they are going to win a conference that has won 16 of the past 25 state championships. 

Saddleback fired out of the gate on Thursday when leadoff hitter Kyle Candalla blasted a home run to left field on the opening at-bat of the game, sending a message that they are focused on the task at hand.

Orange Coast evened the game at 1-1 in bottom of the third inning and it stayed that way until the sixth when Saddleback grabbed back the lead for good.  Luke Jarvis started the inning with a double to left-center field and advanced to third on a groundout by Jared Donahoe.  Later in the inning with two outs, he scored when Orange Coast second baseman J.T. Navarro bobbled a ball, allowing Jarvis to score.  It was a seemingly minor crack in the hull of the Pirate ship, but turned out to be the fracture that submerged the vessel with a Gaucho pitching staff that has been sinking dreams all season. 

Domnique Key started the game and allowed only one run over six innings, improving to 4-0 on the season.  He left in the seventh for Jordan Scheftz, who allowed one hit over the next two innings before giving the ball to closer Daniel Endsley in the ninth.

In the meantime, Saddleback struck for three more runs in the eighth inning to put the game out of reach.  Jarvis again started the rally with one out when he tripled to right field.  He was promptly driven in when Jared Donahoe doubled him home with a rocket down the left field line.  After Brandon Heinrich struck out, Andrew Wilson was then hit with a pitch to give the Gauchos runners at the corners with two outs.  Ryan Fitzpatrick (pictured) delivered with a double to left field and a 4-1 lead.  The rally forced OCC go back to the bullpen in order to stop the bleeding.  It didn't work as new pitcher Alex Hernandez threw a wild pitch to Robbie Biehl, allowing Wilson to score for a 5-1 lead.

Saddleback (24-5, 12-2) now holds a two game lead over Fullerton College in the Orange Empire Conference with seven games remaining on the schedule.  The Gauchos will face OCC in the final game of the three-game set on Saturday at Doug Fritz Field.  The first pitch is scheduled for 12:00 PM.