Saddleback now 4-0 to start
Cats to host undefeated Palomar on Friday
The Saddleback baseball team improved to 4-0 with a 14-6 win over Grossmont College on Thursday at the Saddleback Baseball Complex. The Bobcats host undefeated Palomar on Friday.
Saddleback and Grossmont were both undefeated entering the contest on Thursday, so it was a solid test against a program that came in with some momentum. The Bobcats never trailed in the game, blowing the game wide open in the fourth inning.
Saddleback led 2-1 heading into the bottom half of the fourth inning when the Bobcats had their biggest inning of the season through four games. Saddleback sent 11 batters to the plate in the inning, scoring seven times.
Saddleback took advantage of pitching woes from Grossmont in the inning. The Griffins walked three batters and hit two more as the Bobcats scored all seven runs with two outs in the inning. The final blow was a bases-clearing triple off the bat of Andreas Nilsen, scoring Carter Enoch, Matthew Henning and Jacob Hudson. It gave Saddleback a 9-1 lead through four innings.
Saddleback added three more runs in the fifth inning and two in the sixth in taking a 14-4 lead into the final three innings. It was plenty of offense for the pitching staff, who used five different pitchers in the game. Ryan Rios (pictured) started and completed five innings in picking up his first win of the season. The Bullpen gave up four hits over the final four innings but were victimized by five defensive miscues in the field. The errors led to three unearned runs for the Griffins. Fortunately, for the Bobcats, they had plenty of room to work with the big lead heading into the late innings.
David Vergel de Dios had a big day on offense, finishing 3-for-3 with two runs-scored. Joey Doskocil also reached base three times, finishing 2-for-3 with a walk and three runs-scored.
Saddleback is now 4-0 following the win. It is the second straight season the Bobcats have won their opening four games of the year.
Saddleback will look to extend the winning streak to five when it hosts Palomar College on Friday. The Bobcats and Comets are scheduled to start at 1:00 PM at the Saddleback Baseball Complex.