Cats claw Comets for 3-0 start

The Saddleback baseball team improved to 3-0 with a 6-3 win over Palomar College on Tuesday night at Saddleback Field.  The Bobcats will play again on Wednesday against Ventura College.

Saddleback had a bit of a rough start, allowing three unearned runs in the top half of the first inning in falling behind.  The Bobcats committed a pair of errors with two outs in the inning and the Comets capitalized in taking a 3-0 advantage.

Saddleback answered the call in the bottom half of the inning, scoring three of their own to tie the game at 3-3.  Rodrigo Barajas opened the scoring for Saddleback when he singled home Dmitri Susidko, who opened the inning with a single.  Following a hit batsman, Austin Palmares then singled home Barajas to get the Cats within 3-2.  Palomar then returned the favor with a defensive miscue of their own when Robert Gray hit a ball to the shortstop, who threw wide of first base in allowing Matthew Deutsch to come around to score the tying run.

Saddleback took a 5-3 lead in the bottom half of the third inning when they hit a pair of home runs.  Jacob Beauchaine led off the inning with a towering homer to left-center field to give Saddleback a 4-3 advantage.  Later in the inning, Gray hit a laser beam over the left field wall to give the Bobcats a 5-3 lead.

From that point forward the game turned into a pitcher's duel.  Saddleback's staff allowed just one hit over the final six innings and finished the night with 11 strikeouts.  Kamden Cisneros pitched through the fifth inning in picking up his first win of the season.  He gave way to a Joseph Norris, who kept the slate clean for an inning before Jace Barajas came in to pitch the final three innings in picking up his first save of the season.

Saddleback added an insurance run in the bottom half of the eighth inning when James Derflinger singled home Palmares for a 6-3 lead.

Saddleback is now 3-0 to start the season and has won seven straight games dating back to last year.  The Bobcats will look for a fourth straight win to start the season when they host Ventura College on Wednesday.  The Bobcats and Pirates are scheduled to start at 2:00 PM.