Gauchos conquer at least half the Empire

The Saddleback baseball team won its 11^th straight game on Saturday with a 6-4 victory over Golden West College at Doug Fritz Field.  With the win, the Gauchos earned at least a share of the Orange Empire Conference title with three games remaining.

Saddleback grabbed a 2-0 lead in the opening inning to set the tone.  Kyle Candalla led off the inning with a single and immediate stole second base, sending a message that the Gauchos were going to aggressively work towards a conference title.  He was later driven in by Luke Jarvis when he (Jarvis) singled up the middle for a 1-0 lead. Like Candalla, Jarvis then stole second himself and was later driven home on a single by Brandon Heinrich.

Golden West chipped away with runs in the fourth and fifth innings and took the lead in the top of the sixth for a 3-2 advantage.  Like warriors with their backs against the wall, Saddleback answered the bell and flexed their muscles. 

Saddleback scored four times in the bottom half of the sixth inning, and did it with authority.  With one out in the inning, Jared Donahoe blasted a solo home run to left field to tie the game at 3-3.  Heinrich was then hit by a pitch and Andrew Wilson singled to center field, putting runners on first and second base with one out.  The next batter was Ryan Fitzpatrick (pictured), who drove yet another ball over the left field wall for a 6-3 advantage. 

Golden West never recovered, scoring a late run with one out remaining in the game.  The last batter was rung up by closer Daniel Endsley and Saddleback had its 11^th straight win and a share of the OEC title.

Jackson Rees started on the hill for Saddleback and pitched five innings before giving way to Cameron Aufderheide.  Jordan Scheftz took over in the seventh and Endsley entered in the eighth to record his sixth save of the season. 

Saddleback (28-5, 16-2) now has a three game lead in the Orange Empire Conference over Fullerton College (25-8, 13-5), with the two teams set to meet in the final series of the season.  The opening game of the three-game set is on Tuesday at Doug Fritz Field, starting at 2:00 PM.  One win by Saddleback gives the Gauchos the outright Orange Empire Conference title.

Other Note:  This is the first time that Saddleback has won baseball, football and men's basketball titles all in the same year since 1980-81.