Saddleback wins third straight

The Saddleback baseball team picked up a third straight win with an 8-5 victory over Golden West College on Thursday in Huntington Beach.  The Bobcats are now alone in fourth place in the standings with seven games remaining in conference play.

Saddleback won a second straight game against Golden West in what was considered a huge series for the Bobcats given a recent slide that had them as low as sixth place in the Orange Empire Conference standings.  Saddleback has now won the three-game series with the final game of the series on tap for Friday.

Saddleback and Golden West traded solo runs in each of the first three innings as the game moved to the fifth inning tied 3-3.  Saddleback then grabbed control of the game in the top half of the fifth inning when they scored a pair of runs for a 5-3 advantage.  James Derflinger singled home Dmitri Susidko for the first run of the inning after Susidko had tripled to lead off the inning.  The next batter was Andreas Nilsen and after Derflinger stole second base Nilsen then singled to left field to bring him home with the second run of the inning.

Saddleback tacked on solo runs in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings in taking an 8-3 lead into the bottom of the ninth inning.  The Bobcats got some help in the seventh inning when the Golden West pitcher threw the ball into center field in a failed pickoff attempt of Derflinger, allowing the speedy runner to score all the way from second base.  Michael Walshe then scored on a wild pitch in the eighth inning as the Rustler pitching staff couldn't find home plate.  The Bobcats added the final run in the ninth inning when Nilsen drove home Susidko with a single to center field.

Nilsen finished 3-for-5 with two RBI on the day.  Jacob Beauchaine also reached base three times, finishing 2-for-4 with a walk.  Susidko remained a thorn in the side of the Rustlers for a second straight game, finishing 1-for-1 with three walks and three runs-scored.

Saddleback started Damon Anderson Wolf on the mound, and he pitched through three innings before giving way to Kamden Cisneros.  The big righty proceeded to stifle the Rustler offense for 5.1 innings, striking out eight batters while walking none in picking up his second win of the season.

Saddleback is now 21-12 overall and 7-7 in Orange Empire Conference (OEC) play following the win.  The Bobcats are now alone in fourth place in the OEC standings, two games back of Riverside City.

Saddleback and Golden West will finish the series on Friday at Saddleback.  The first pitch is scheduled for 1:00 PM.