Cats stun Rustlers late

The Saddleback baseball team rallied for four runs in the top half of the ninth inning to defeat Golden West College, 10-7, on Tuesday in Huntington Beach.  The Bobcats scored all four runs with two outs in the inning.

You can use multiple idioms to describe what happened on Tuesday.  It ain't over 'til it's over.  Don't count your chickens before they're hatched.  Better late than never.  You fill in the blanks.

Saddleback waited until the absolute last moment to strike for a win on Tuesday.  The Bobcats trailed 7-6 with two outs in the top half of the ninth inning when lightning struck.  David Vergel de Dios came to the plate with the bases loaded and hit a ball down the left-field line to score both Jacob Hudson and Matthew Henning to give Saddleback an 8-7 lead.  The next batter was Cole Strane, who hit a ball to the gap in right-center field for a triple to score both Carter Enoch and Vergel de Dios for a 10-7 lead. 

Saddleback had a 6-3 lead heading to the bottom half of the sixth inning when Golden West scored a solo run in the sixth inning and three more runs in the seventh inning for a 7-6 advantage. 

Saddleback then went to Evan Daly out of the bullpen in the seventh inning, and the freshman from Dana Hills High School cooled down the Rustler bats.  He pitched three shutout innings, surrendering just one hit with a handful of walks in picking up his first win of the season. 

Saddleback had eight hits in the game but also capitalized on seven walks surrendered by the Golden West pitching staff.  Andrew Bertolette reached base three times on walks while Matthew Henning and Wesley Hickey both had two hits in the game.  Strane finished 1-for-3 with a walk and the triple while Vergel de Dios (pictured) had a hit in his only at-bat.

Saddleback is now 12-8 overall and 2-2 in Orange Empire Conference play.  The Bobcats and Rustlers will resume the series at Saddleback on Thursday at 2:00 PM.