Gauchos find Hope in Costa Mesa

The Saddleback softball team enjoyed a scoring spree on Friday in Costa Mesa, outscoring Orange Coast College 10-8.  The Gauchos had 17 hits, a season high.

Saddleback has been heating up in recent weeks, winning its past three games in attempt to make a playoff run.  The Gauchos needed everything they could get on Friday as OCC had them locked in a scoring-fest.

Saddleback scored in all but two innings but trailed 3-2 heading to the fourth inning in a game they could ill-afford to lose.  The Gauchos scored four times to take back the lead, with a two-run homer by Hope Manuszak being the big jolt.  The homer was the fourth straight hit after Brittney Chacon started the rally with a double, Samantha Molina tripled and Madison Newby doubled.  It was the first home run of the season for Manuszak, who had just 14 RBI heading into the game.  She finished 3-for-4 on the afternoon and was one of four Gauchos to finish the day with three hits.  In total, Manuszak reached base four times, including a bases on balls in the third inning.

Saddleback used a different rotation of pitchers on Friday as Nicole Gliko started and gave way to Alyssa Fawcett in the third inning. 

Saddleback (15-16, 8-8) is currently in fourth place in the Orange Empire Conference standings after the win, one game back of Fullerton College.  The Gauchos are also No. 9 in the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) in Southern California, which bodes well for a playoff spot in the upcoming SoCal playoffs.

Saddleback will attempt to run the winning streak to four games on Tuesday when it travels to Riverside to take on the Tigers at 3:30 PM.  The Tuesday game at RCC is a make-up game from April 8 when the field in Riverside was too wet to play following heavy rains in the area.