Saddleback turns back Sierra to gain 3C2A Baseball Championship berth against Santa Ana

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FOLSOM - It will be two familiar teams going at it for all the marbles, following Sunday night's 10-4 win for Saddleback College in the night-time elimination game over Sierra College on Day 2 of the California Community College Athletic Association Baseball State Championship, hosted by Folsom Lake College.

With the win, the Bobcats (38-12) earned the final spot at the head table and will take on fellow Orange Empire Conference rival, Santa Ana College for all the marbles, beginning on Monday at 11 a.m. The Dons (35-15) – undefeated in the State Final Four – need to win just one game against Saddleback, while the Bobcats need to extend things to a second game on Monday and win twice.

Saddleback needed a big-time performance from one of its pitchers and C.J. Zwahlen answered the call. Entering the game with a 2-2 record and a 5.31 ERA, the freshman righty stepped up and gave the tired Bobcat bullpen a bit of a breather. Zwahlen went seven strong innings and held the Wolverines to four runs on eight hits with two walks and three strikeouts.

Saddleback jumped ahead first and never looked back, scoring the first four runs of the game, notching a pair of runs in the third and fourth innings. Sierra (35-15) trimmed the four-run deficit in half with a pair of runs in the fifth, but Saddleback responded with three more runs in the bottom half of the same frame.

Zach Schwartzberg led the way offensively for the Bobcats, going 2-for-3, including a home run, two runs scored and three RBI. Jack Collins collected three hits and two RBI, while Cole Koniarsky added two hits, a run and two RBI to add to the Bobcats' 13-hit attack.

Andrew Paolini and Andre Chacon each had two hits for the Wolverines, while Dillion Wells had a hit, a run and two RBI. Jarren Ekkelboom took the loss for Sierra, allowing four earned runs on four hits with four walks and three strikeouts over 3 1/3 innings.

As for Monday's state-title matchup, this is the fifth meeting between the two OEC neighbors in 2023. During conference play, Saddleback won 2-of-3 over the Dons (11-4, 6-11, 6-3), but the Dons returned the favor on Sunday's State Final Four showdown on Sunday with a 13-4 win to earn their spot in the title game. 

(Tony Altobelli, CCCSIA)