Saddleback wins clash of the clowder
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Saddleback | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 0 |
|
Riverside | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
The Saddleback baseball team won its second straight game over Riverside City College on Saturday in Riverside. The Bobcats received great pitching in beating the Tigers, 6-1, to win the series.
Saddleback lost the opening game of the series on Tuesday and came back to even the series on Thursday. The Bobcats then completed the series win on Saturday behind a solid pitching performance from first-time starter Jack Wade and a stellar bullpen. The freshman from Mission Viejo went five innings in his first collegiate start, surrendering only three hits while striking out five in improving to 2-1 for the season.
Wade got some help from his friends as the bullpen duo of Ryan Seymour and Isaac Rodriguez were flawless. Seymour and Rodriguez gave up just one hit and no walks over the final four innings in slamming the door on the Tigers.
Saddleback took a 2-0 lead in the top half of the third inning when J.C. Allen knocked in both Ben Castelli and Makani Tanaka with a double to right field. The two RBI from Allen put him at 37 for the year, which is the second highest number in the state. It also gave Allen 100 RBI for his career at Saddleback, which is the sixth highest total in program history.
Saddleback led 3-1 heading into the sixth inning when they struck for two more runs. Castelli knocked in the first run when he tripled to left-center field to score Bryson Hoier. After a pitching change from RCC, Tanaka then greeted the new hurler with a single to score Castelli and the Bobcats had a 5-1 lead. Saddleback tacked on an insurance run in the top half of the seventh inning for the final run of the game.
Castelli had a big day, leading the offense with three hits and three runs-scored on the afternoon. Tanaka and Allen finished with two hits apiece.
Saddleback is now 12-6 overall and 2-1 in Orange Empire Conference (OEC) play. The Bobcats will resume OEC play next week with a three-game set against Orange Coast (8-12, 3-0), who swept Irvine Valley in their opening conference series. OCC will host games on Tuesday (2:00 PM) and Saturday (12:00 PM) in Costa Mesa while the Bobcats will host the Pirates on Thursday (2:00 PM).