Orange Empire Strikes Back

The Saddleback baseball program saw its season come to an end on Saturday when it fell to Riverside City College, 14-4, in game three of a best-of-three series at Doug Fritz Field.  The Gauchos finish one of their best seasons ever at 30-9.

Saddleback knew it had a challenge entering the day, having to win two straight against a club that came into the regional with a lot of confidence.  The Gauchos opened the day with an exciting 7-5 win over the Tigers when Luke Jarvis (pictured) blasted a two-run homer over the left field wall in the top of the ninth inning to force a game three.  It was a game with a lot of twists and turns after Saddleback scored three runs in the opening inning only to see Riverside claw its way back into the game and eventually even the score in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Game three was completely different, as Riverside fired out of the gate quickly and never turned back.  The Tigers opened with five runs in the first inning, knocking starter Jackson Rees out of the game after pitching just 1/3^rd of an inning. The next four pitchers suffered a similar fate as Riverside hammered out 13 hits over the first six innings in opening up a 14-3 lead.  The Gauchos helped by committing three errors in the field while walking six in the first four innings.  In short, it wasn't meant to be in game three.

Saddleback finishes the season at 30-9, winning its first Orange Empire Conference championship since 1998.  It was the first time the Gauchos had won 30 games since 2003 and finishes as the No. 2 season in the history of the program in winning percentage (.769), trailing only the 1997 squad that finished 36-10 (.782). 

Saddleback had seven players and a coach named to the All-Orange Empire Conference First Team.  They had another three named to the second team.  Although it ended quicker than most wanted, it was a heck of a season and one the fans won't forget for years to come.

Congrats Gauchos on a successful season!