Saddleback opens against Sierra

The Saddleback baseball team opens the 2023 California Community College Athletic Association (3C2A) State Tournament against Sierra College on Saturday.  The Bobcats and Wolverines are scheduled to start at 12:00 PM.

Saddleback and Sierra have played three times in the past, with Sierra winning twice.  The last time the two programs played was back in March of 2010 as part of an annual trip to the Central Valley that Saddleback has been taking for close to two decades.  That game turned out to be a slugfest with Sierra winning, 14-10.  This contest looks very different as both squads come in with some of the best pitching in the state.

Saddleback enters with the second best team earned-run average in the state at 3.56 while Sierra is right behind them at No. 3 with a 3.64 ERA.  The Bobcats have surrendered only 18 earned runs in eight playoff games while Sierra gave up just six earned runs in the opening five games of the playoffs.  Saddleback is one of the state leaders in giving up 3.31 walks-per-game while Sierra is third in the state with 9.64 strikeouts-per-game. 

Saddleback also boasts one of the better team batting averages in the state, hitting at a .335 clip with a .416 on-base percentage.  Sierra bats .296 as a team with a .397 on-base percentage.  The Bobcats are likely to have six guys in the starting lineup batting above .315 for the year in Michael Davinni, Isaiah Morales, J.C. Allen, Jason Hefft, Jack Collins and Ben Castelli.  The Wolverines will counter with six of their own in Zach Chamizo, Alex Johnson, Andrew Paolini, Jack Weise, Joe Plise and Clayton Coats. 

Saddleback pulled into town on Thursday night and had a workout at Folsom Lake College Field on Friday afternoon (above image).  The Bobcats then joined the other three squads at the annual California Community College Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame Dinner at the Lake Natoma Inn on Friday night.

The first pitch is scheduled for 12:00 PM on Saturday.   The weather at game time is expected to be sunny and 70 degrees for the first pitch, warming up to 78 by the end of the game.  See the above links for ticketing, live streaming, live stats and game program.