Bobcats show some teeth against Warriors
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
El Camino | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
|
Saddleback | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | X | 8 | 11 | 1 |
The Saddleback baseball team improved to 2-0 in the California Community College Athletic Association (3C2A) Super Regional round of the playoffs with an 8-1 victory over El Camino College on Friday at Doug Fritz Field. The Bobcats will try to close out the regional on Saturday.
Saddleback is one win from hosting the regional finals next weekend after powering past El Camino on Friday. The Bobcats took an early lead and never looked back in turning back the Warriors.
Saddleback scored in the bottom half of the second inning when Jack Collins drove home Zachary Schwartzberg with a sacrifice fly after Schwartzberg had advanced to third base on an errant throw by the El Camino starting pitcher.
The Bobcats tacked on two more runs in the bottom half of the third inning, once again taking advantage of some careless play on defense from the Warriors. After an error and a couple of walks, Isaiah Morales would eventually score the second run of the game on a sacrifice fly from Schwartzberg. Jason Hefft would follow him home after a wild pitch from the El Camino staff to make the score 3-0.
Saddleback started Trevor Eby on the mound and he pitched 5+ innings before giving way to the bullpen. Tyler Byrns then came on and pitched the final four innings while the offense built up the lead. Eby improved to 6-1 on the season while Byrns recorded his first save of the year. The duo combined for nine strikeouts while walking just two.
Saddleback increased the lead to 5-1 in the bottom half of the sixth inning when Makani Tanaka blasted his first home run of the season over the right field fence. The Bobcats would add two more runs in the bottom half of the seventh inning when the first four batters of the inning reached base, with J.C. Allen and Cole Koniarsky eventually coming around to score.
Saddleback improved to 33-10 overall with the win on Friday. The Bobcats and Warriors play again on Saturday at 12:00 PM. A win by Saddleback would end the regional while a win from El Camino would force another game later in the afternoon.