Wilf and the fellas impressive in game one
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Desert | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 3 |
|
Saddleback | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | X | 10 | 11 | 1 |
The Saddleback baseball team won its 16th straight game on Friday with a 10-1 victory over College of the Desert in the opening game of the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Super Regional at Doug Fritz Field. Connor Wilford picked up his 11th win of the season and the Bobcats are now one win away from the regional finals.
Saddleback used what has become a common formula over the past six weeks. The Bobcats scored early and often, taking command and backing their opponent into a corner. Saddleback took advantage of three costly errors by the Roadrunners over the first three innings in taking an 8-0 lead. Six of the runs were unearned, with seven of them coming with two outs.
Saddleback put a stamp on things in the bottom half of the sixth inning when Michael Davinni hit a two-run homer to extend the lead to 10-1. It was the fourth home run of the season for Davinni and traveled some 390-feet over the left-center field wall.
Meanwhile, Wilford (pictured) was nearly untouchable on the mound. He pitched through the eighth inning, striking out six while spreading around eight hits in improving to 11-2. The 11th win by Wilford is the fifth most wins in a single season for a Saddleback pitcher in program history. In addition, Wilford lowered his ERA to 2.78 for the season.
Cole Koniarsky led the Bobcats on offense, finishing 3-for-5. Jacob Naso, Jordan Dissin and Michael Davinni all finished with two hits apiece.
Saddleback and Desert play again on Saturday at 1:00 PM. The Roadrunners will be listed as the home team for the game on Saturday. If Saddleback wins they will advance to the regional finals next week and play the winner of Santa Ana College and Palomar College. If Desert wins on Saturday, the two teams will play a third and final game on Sunday at 12:00 PM.
The win gave Saddleback 16 straight wins, putting them within one win of tying a program record 17-straight wins. Saddleback won 17 straight games in both 2002 and 1997.