Cats claw Birds in opener

The Saddleback baseball team is one win away from a berth in the state tournament after a 3-1 win against Cerritos College on Friday in Cerritos.  Pitcher Jack Wade was brilliant in picking up the win.

Wade (7-3) has been red hot as of late.  On Friday he was sizzling, striking out 14 Cerritos batters before exiting in the seventh inning with a 3-0 lead.  Saddleback then called upon Zachary Allegro to pitch the final 2.1 innings in picking up his ninth save of the season.  The duo allowed only four hits in the game while striking out 15 Falcons for the day.

Saddleback took the lead in the top half of the first inning when Jacob Beauchaine blasted a two-run homer to left field.  It was Beauchaine's seventh home run of the season and his second straight game with a homer.  Like Wade, Beauchaine has been blistering hot as of late and is now 10-for-18 over the past five games after the 2-for-3 performance on Friday. 

Saddleback added an insurance run in the top half of the sixth inning when Beauchaine singled and stole second base before being singled home by Rodrigo Barajas.  It was one of two hits on the day for Barajas. 

J.C. Allen had three hits in the game for the first time since April 9 as Saddleback finished with eight hits on the day.

Saddleback's defense was perfect, committing no errors for a second straight game.  The Bobcats have made just one error over the final five games.

Saddleback is now 30-16 overall following the win.  The Bobcats are one win away from advancing to the 3C2A State Tournament next weekend at Mt. San Antonio College.  Saddleback and Cerritos will play game two of the series on Saturday at 1:00 PM at Cerritos.