Gauchos blast Pirates for 3-game lead in OEC

The Saddleback baseball team made a statement on Saturday at Doug Fritz Field, beating two-time defending state champion Orange Coast College, 17-1.  The win, coupled with a loss by Fullerton, has Saddleback's magic number to clinch the conference title down to four.

Saddleback and Orange Coast were tied at 1-1 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning when the Gauchos exploded.  Saddleback scored 10 times in the inning and six more times in the eighth inning as the Orange Coast pitching staff was running on fumes.

The Gauchos sent 14 batters to the plate in the seventh, taking advantage of four walks, one wild pitch and seven hits in the inning.  The seven hits came from seven different batters with Kyle Candalla and Jared Donahoe both reaching base twice.  Candalla led off the inning with a walk and later tripled with the bases loaded, scoring twice in the inning. 

The eighth inning wasn't a lot better for Orange Coast as Saddleback sent 12 batters to the plate.  The Gauchos tacked on six more hits while Pirate pitchers coughed up two more walks, using three different pitchers in the inning.

In all, Saddleback tallied 19 hits on the day as Orange Coast ran seven different pitchers to the mound.  Conversely, the Gaucho staff was almost unhittable, surrendering only two hits.  Jackson Rees pitched five innings before giving the ball to Cameron Aufderheide.  Daniel Endsley pitched the eighth inning while Stephen Young finished off the Pirates in the ninth.  In total, Saddleback pitchers faced just four over the minimum, striking out seven while walking only one.

The 17 runs by Saddleback tied the season high of 17 against Riverside on March 8.  It was the eighth straight win for the Gauchos and gives them a three-game lead in the Orange Empire Conference with six games to play after Fullerton College lost to Riverside City College, 11-6, earlier in the day.

Saddleback (25-5, 13-2) will look to extend the winning streak on Tuesday when they open a three-game series against Golden West College (20-10, 9-6) at Doug Fritz Field.  The first pitch is set for 2:00 PM.