Ninth straight win is a walk-off

The Saddleback baseball team won its ninth straight game on Thursday with a 3-2 victory over Golden West College at Doug Fritz Field.  Cole Koniarsky sent the fans home with a walk-off double in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Saddleback and Golden West got tangled in an old fashion pitcher's duel on Thursday and the Bobcats proved to have just a little more pitching than the Rustlers.

Golden West had a 2-0 lead after scoring twice in the top half of the second inning when DJ McEvers tripled home Noah Estrem and came around to score when the ball was misplayed at third base.  

From that point forward, starting pitcher Ryan Farmer did everything he could to keep Saddleback in the game.  Farmer allowed just two base-runners over the next six innings before giving up a single with two outs in the eighth inning and giving way to the bullpen. Farmer was aided by some sensational glovework in the field.  Michael Davinni made a stunning throw across the diamond on a ball that was hit over third base where he made the throw from foul ground.  The Cats also made a double play look easy in the fourth inning when Golden West was threatening to add to a 2-0 lead.  

Saddleback tied the game at 2-2 in the bottom half of the fifth inning, thanks to some timely hitting and a miscue by the Golden West defense.  The Bobcats has runners at the corners with one out after Jacob Naso singled and Johnathan Behm reached on an error.  Saddleback cashed in when Jordan Dissin doubled to right-center field to cut the deficit to 2-1.  The next batter was Michael Davinni, who hit a high-hopper over the third baseman's head allowing Liam O'Connor to score the tying run. 

Saddleback eventually turned the ball over to Joshua Meekins on the mound, who pitched the final 1.1 innings in improving to 3-0 on the season.  Meekins gave up one hit while striking out one in the outing while lowering his ERA to 1.08 for the season.  He received a nice bit of help from second baseman Zachary Schwartzberg in the top half of the ninth inning when Schwartzberg went up the ladder to nab a line drive out of the air with two outs and the Rustlers threatening.  

Saddleback won the game with two outs in the bottom half of the ninth inning.  The first two batters were retired when Davinni came to the plate and earned a walk to put the potential winning run on first base.  Koniarsky then came to the plate and scalded a ball off the left field fence.  The ball took a wicked hop away from the left fielder, allowing Davinni to score all the way from first base as the bench erupted and raced on to the field.

Saddleback is now 28-8 overall and 13-4 in Orange Empire Conference play following the win.  The Bobcats have now won nine straight games, which is the longest winning streak since winning 10 games to start the 2017 season. 

Saddleback and Golden West will conclude the three-game series at Golden West on Saturday.  The first pitch is scheduled for 12:00 PM in Huntington Beach.