Gauchos drive Carr through Fullerton

The Saddleback baseball team made it two in a row over Fullerton College with a 5-1 win over the Hornets on Friday in Fullerton.  Michael Carr improved to 4-0 on the season while Brett Auerbach led the offensive charge.

Saddleback entered the game looking for its second win in a row over Fullerton and looking to regain some steam after the program lost four in a row heading into the win on Thursday.  The Gauchos received a masterful start from Carr, who kept the Hornets off balance for 6.1 innings while the offense was building a lead.  Carr finished with four strikeouts while giving up only two hits before leaving in the bottom of the seventh with a 5-1 lead. 

Once Carr left, the Gaucho bullpen was nearly flawless.  The combination of Connor Sealey, Hunter Johnson and Devin Sutorius struck out five while surrendering no hits in preserving the win.

On offense, Auerbach was looking for redemption after going 0-for-3 on Thursday and started the scoring with a single in the fifth inning to drive home Spencer Heinsius.  He then drove in the fourth run of the game with a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning when Saddleback scored three times for a 4-0 lead.  Auerbach would later add a single in the eighth inning to finish 2-for-4 at the plate with two RBI.

Saddleback improved to 16-9 overall and 4-5 in the Orange Empire Conference with the win.  The Gauchos moved up at least one spot into a tie for fourth place in the OEC, and could move as high as third place depending on what happens in a game today between Golden West and Santa Ana. 

Saddleback will open a three-game set with Irvine Valley College next Tuesday at Doug Fritz Field.  The first pitch on Tuesday is set for 2:00 PM.