A purrrrfect end to the regular season

The Saddleback baseball team ended the regular season with a 12-2 win over Fullerton College on Friday in Fullerton.  The Bobcats finished the regular season on a 13-game winning streak and now await a playoff announcement this weekend.

Saddleback finished the month of April 12-0 and has won 11 straight games in Orange Empire Conference play.  The latest victim was Fullerton, who the Bobcats outscored 46-4 in the series. 

Saddleback took a normal path to victory on Friday, putting up a crooked number in the early goings to put the game out of reach.  The Bobcats scored eight times in the top half of the third inning, sending 13 batters to the plate.  The big blow was a grand slam from Cole Koniarsky (pictured) to give the Bobcats a 5-0 lead.  Saddleback had four hits in the inning and took advantage of some pitching and defensive miscues from the Hornets.  Fullerton walked three batters in the inning and committed a pair of errors in surrendering three unearned runs.

Koniarsky's home runs was his sixth of the season and he finished the regular season leading the team in both home runs and RBI (57).  

Saddleback built a 12-0 lead at in the top half of the sixth inning as Lance Gardiner hit a two-run homer to keep his recent hot streak alive.  Gardiner finished 1-for-2 with a walk and has hit .650 over the past four games (13-of-20). 

Connor Wilford started on the mound and pitched through the seventh inning in improving to 9-2 on the season.  Wilford spread around six hits while striking out eight before giving way to the bullpen.  Trevor Eby and Arthur Liu both pitched an inning of relief to close out the game.

Saddleback finishes the regular season 32-8 overall, winning the Orange Empire Conference with a 17-4 record.  The 32 wins is the most for the program since winning 33 games in 2018.  The 17-4 total in OEC play ties a record for the best season in program history with the 2016 squad.

Saddleback's 13-game winning streak is the longest winning streak since the program won 17 straight games in 2002. 

Saddleback will find out what seed it is for the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Regional Playoffs this weekend.  The playoffs start next week.