Cats scratch out win in 12
| Final (12) | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Saddleback | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 11 | 15 | 1 |
|
Glendale | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 12 | 1 |
The Saddleback baseball team won its final tune-up before conference play with an 11-6 win at Glendale College on Wednesday. The Bobcats struck for six runs in the top half of the 12th inning in turning back the Vaqueros.
Saddleback and Glendale played for nearly four hours in a game where both teams had their opportunities to win. The Bobcats finally broke through with a big inning, which proved to be too much for the Vaqueros.
Saddleback's bullpen played a key role, silencing the Glendale bats for nearly six innings to give the Bobcats a chance at a win. Tyler Byrns started and was taken out for Jayden Graves in the sixth inning after getting into a jam. Zachary Allegro pitched four innings before giving way to Isaac Rodriguez, who pitched the final two innings in picking up his first win of the season. In total, Saddleback pitchers struck out nine Vaqueros on the day, with the bullpen allowing no walks over 6.1 innings of work.
Saddleback started quickly on offense as Matthew Deutsch and Makani Tanaka hit back-to-back homers to start the game. Later, Jacob Beauchaine joined in on the fun and launched a homer in the sixth inning to give the Bobcats a 5-2 advantage.
Saddleback's bats went silent for the next five innings and finally reappeared in the 12th when the Glendale pitching staff ran out of gas. The Bobcats had five hits in the inning, including two from Ben Castelli. The sophomore from Mission Viejo High School started the inning with a single and later came around to score the go-ahead run on a single from Rodrigo Barajas. Castelli then drove in the final run of the game with two outs with a single to score Tanaka.
Castelli finished 3-for-5 while reaching base five times. Tanaka also had three hits in the game as Saddleback scratched out 15 hits on the day.
Saddleback is now 10-5 overall on the season following the win. The Bobcats will open Orange Empire Conference play next week against Riverside City College. Saddleback will open at RCC on Tuesday at 2:00 PM before returning home to host the Tigers on Thursday (2:00 PM). Game three will be at Riverside City on Saturday (12:00 PM).