8/21/09: Gaucho baseball commits swell to 13
 The Saddleback baseball program had a banner week of players committing to 4-year universities and the number rose to 13 for the year when the coaches announced on Thursday that sophomore pitcher Max Whieldon has committed to Seattle University. Whieldon caps off a tremendous week for the Gauchos, who saw four players commit over the past five days.
Whieldon pitched in eight games for Saddleback in 2009, finishing with a 3.65 ERA for the season, holding opposing batters to a .229 average. He was a product of Trabuco Hills High School, where he finished 3-0 with a 1.90 ERA as a senior.
Whieldon joins freshman Blaine Jones in committing to Seattle, which will start baseball in 2010.
The following is a list of Saddleback baseball commitments for 2009:
Bobby Brown (UT), Abilene Christian University
Tyler Gilder (P), Montana State University Billings
Zac Johnston (P), San Diego State University
Blaine Jones (P), Seattle University
Rich Kemp (P), California State University, East Bay
Josh Leite (OF), Azusa Pacific University
Jeff Lucero (IF), University of Nevada
Jeff Montenegro (OF), California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (academics)
Joe Richardson (P), George Washington University
Zack Richmond (P), Colorado State University-Pueblo
Robby Ross (P), Point Loma Nazarene University
Max Whieldon (P), Seattle University
Trevor Whyte (1B), University of California, Santa Barbara
8/20/09:
Lucero commits to Nevada
 The baseball program at Saddleback has had a big week for commitments and it grew by one more on Wednesday when the coaching staff announced that infielder Jeff Lucero had committed to the University of Nevada. His commitment to the WAC program lifts the Gauchos to 12 commitments to 4-year universities for the year.
Lucero played in 20 games for Saddleback, batting .347 with 11 RBI for the season. Previous to Saddleback, he played at Grossmont College in 2008, where he played in 14 games for the Griffins. Lucero graduated from Great Oak High School in Temecula where he was a scholar athlete and batted .421 as a junior.
Nevada plays in the Western Athletic Conference and finished 25-31 in 2009.
The following is a list of Saddleback baseball commitments for the 2009 season:
Bobby Brown (UT), Abilene Christian University
Tyler Gilder (P), Montana State University Billings
Zac Johnston (P), San Diego State University
Blaine Jones (P), Seattle University
Rich Kemp (P), California State University, East Bay
Josh Leite (OF), Azusa Pacific University
Jeff Lucero (IF), University of Nevada
Jeff Montenegro (OF), California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (academics)
Joe Richardson (P), George Washington University
Zack Richmond (P), Colorado State University-Pueblo
Robby Ross (P), Point Loma Nazarene University
Trevor Whyte (1B), University of California, Santa Barbara
8/18/09: Gaucho baseball commits rise to 11
 The Saddleback baseball program saw its commitments to 4-year universities rise to 11 on Monday when the baseball office announced that sophomore pitcher Tyler Gilder had committed to Montana State University at Billings. The right-handed pitcher transferred to Saddleback from the University of Southern Idaho before the 2009 season.
Gilder pitched in eight games for the Gauchos in 2009, finishing with no decisions. Previous to Saddleback and Southern Idaho, Gilder was a 4-sport star at Butte High School where he was an all-state selection in basketball and track and was an all-conference player in football. Gilder is the son of former major league pitcher Robb Nen and was a 40th round draft pick of the Philadelphia Phillies in 2007.
Montana State University at Billings plays in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference and finished 24-28 in 2009.
The following is a list of Gauchos that have moved on to 4-year universities:
Bobby Brown (UT), Abilene Christian University
Tyler Gilder (P), Montana State University Billings
Zac Johnston (P), San Diego State University
Blaine Jones (P), Seattle University
Rich Kemp (P), California State University, East Bay
Josh Leite (OF), Azusa Pacific University
Jeff Montenegro (OF), California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (academics)
Joe Richardson (P), George Washington University
Zack Richmond (P), Colorado State University-Pueblo
Robby Ross (P), Point Loma Nazarene University
Trevor Whyte (1B), University of California, Santa Barbara
8/17/09: Richardson signs LOI in nation’s capital
 Saddleback pitcher Joe Richardson was one of the leaders for the Gauchos in 2009 and will now join the leaders of our country in Washington, DC, as he signed a letter of intent to play at George Washington University. The sophomore pitcher finished 8-5 this past season, leading the team in strikeouts.
Richardson was 9-6 over two seasons at Saddleback, striking out 61 batters in 112.2 innings of work with a 3.99 ERA. He is the 10th Saddleback player to commit to a 4-year university from the 2009 team that finished 29-20, losing in the super regional finals.
George Washington University is located in Washington, DC, and plays in the Atlantic 10 Conference. The Colonials finished 22-33 in 2009.
The following is a list of Gauchos that have moved on to 4-year universities:
Bobby Brown (UT), Abilene Christian University
Zac Johnston (P), San Diego State University
Blaine Jones (P), Seattle University
Rich Kemp (P), California State University, East Bay
Josh Leite (OF), Azusa Pacific University
Jeff Montenegro (OF), California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (academics)
Joe Richardson (P), George Washington University
Zack Richmond (P), Colorado State University-Pueblo
Robby Ross (P), Point Loma Nazarene University
Trevor Whyte (1B), University of California, Santa Barbara
8/4/09: Gauchos well-represented at Stan Musial World Series
 Four players with ties to Saddleback College helped the California Mariners win the West Regional of the American Amateur Baseball Congress (AABC) and will now represent the West in the Stan Musial World Series which will be held August 12-16 in Huntsville, Texas.
Current Saddleback Gauchos Dalton Sype (Laguna Beach HS) and Brett Vertigan (Rancho Alamitos HS) are on the roster which helped the Mariners advance to the World Series, as well as incoming pitcher Jordan Helmkamp (transfer from Chico State) and former Gaucho southpaw D.J. Leffler (now at Tennessee).
The Stan Musial World Series is the final tournament in the unlimited age division (age 19+) which consists mainly of top college players along with some ex-professional players. There has been a World Series tournament for this age division each year since 1935. The last West regional team to win the World Series was a team from Sacramento in 2000 which edged Puerto Rico, 16-15.
The West team will open the tournament on Wednesday, August 12, against East Central region starting at 5:30 p.m. central time. Games will be featured via live audio webcasts over the internet for fans unable to make the trip to Huntsville for the tournament. Log onto the official website at www.smws.us for more information and to listen in.
More information about the World Series and the California Mariners can be found at www.CaliforniaMariners.com.
8/3/09: Saddleback to host professional baseball game
 Saddleback College will be the site for Tuesday night's (August 4) Golden Baseball League matchup between the Orange County Flyers and the Long Beach Armada. Game time is 7:05 p.m.
The Saddleback College campus is no stranger to professional baseball as the Mission Viejo Vigilantes called the campus baseball stadium home during the 1997 and 1998 summer seasons with former Angels manager Buck Rodgers serving as manager of the Vigilantes.
Saddleback, which claimed a community college state championship in 2004 and state runner-up finishes in 1998 and 2003, has a rich baseball heritage in Southern Orange County. Former major league all-stars Tim Wallach and Mark Grace launched their baseball careers while wearing a Saddleback uniform and current major league players Nick Punto (Minnesota Twins) and Rob Johnson (Seattle Mariners) also started out as Gauchos.
The Orange County Flyers are managed by Phil Nevin and feature a former Gaucho, Armando Carrasco, as a relief pitcher. Carrasco played for Saddleback during the 2005 and 2006 seasons.
The Long Beach Armada are managed by Garry Templeton. Templeton’s son, Gerome, played basketball at Saddleback during the 2000-01 and 2001-02 seasons.
7/15/09: Gaucho baseball commitments up to nine
 The Saddleback baseball team ran its total of commitments to nine this past week when three more players signed on the dotted line with 4-year universities. Sophomores Zack Richmond and Rich Kemp along with freshman Blaine Jones all made decisions regarding their futures, according to the baseball office.
Richmond, a right-handed pitcher from Chino Hills High School, committed to Colorado State-Pueblo after pitching in four games for the Gauchos in 2009. He is 6-foot-2, 230 pounds and plans to major in psychology.
Kemp decided to stay in-state as he committed to Cal State East Bay this past week. The right-handed pitcher from Mission Viejo High School pitched in 20 games for Saddleback, finishing with a 4.43 ERA and striking our 28 batters in 42.2 innings of work. Opposing batters hit just .267 off Kemp, which led Gaucho pitchers that started five or more games. He plans to major in history.
Right-handed pitcher Blaine Jones became the first freshman to commit during the off-season as he opted to leave after one season to Seattle University, a new DI program that will start baseball in 2010. Jones came to Saddleback from Santa Margarita High School and appeared in 11 games for the Gauchos, striking out 31 batters in just 29 innings of work.
The latest commitments bring the Saddleback total to nine for the year. The following is a list of committed Gauchos:
Bobby Brown (UT), Abilene Christian University
Zac Johnston (P), San Diego State University
Blaine Jones (P), Seattle University
Rich Kemp (P), California State University, East Bay
Josh Leite (OF), Azusa Pacific University
Jeff Montenegro (OF), California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (academics)
Zack Richmond (P), Colorado State University-Pueblo
Robby Ross (P), Point Loma Nazarene University
Trevor Whyte (1B), University of California, Santa Barbara
6/18/09: Bobby Brown signs with Abilene Christian
 The baseball program saw its number of transfers increase to six on Wednesday when the coaches announced that sophomore Bobby Brown has signed a letter of intent to play at Abilene Christian University. Brown was a transfer player this past season from Fullerton College after graduating from Santa Fe High School.
Brown is 6-foot-3, 215 pounds and batted .250 for the Gauchos, belting two home runs. He was a complete utility player for Saddleback, playing a number of positions, including pitching in one game.
Brown runs the total of transfers from the baseball team to six for the year. Joining him at moving on to the 4-year level is Trevor Whyte (UC Santa Barbara), Zac Johnston (San Diego State), Robby Ross (Pt. Loma), Josh Leite (Azusa Pacific) and Jeff Montenegro (Cal Poly SLO, academics).
5/16/09: Gauchos go out quietly in super regional
The Saddleback baseball season ended on Saturday after an 11-6 loss to Mt. San Jacinto College in the Southern California Super Regional Tournament. The Gauchos fell behind 7-1 after three innings and could never recover in finishing the season with a 29-20 record.
 Much like Friday, Saddleback got out of the gate slowly and never found its groove. The Gauchos took a short-lived 1-0 lead into the bottom of the second inning before Mt. San Jacinto struck for three runs against ace Robby Ross. The Eagles were not done yet, as they would add four more runs in the third inning in chasing the sophomore ace in what was likely his shortest outing of the season.
Saddleback made the game interesting in the fourth inning when Joshua Leite (pictured) turned on a fastball and drove it over the right-center field fence to cut the lead to 7-4. The Gauchos would add another run in the top of the sixth inning to cut the lead to 7-5 but quickly Mt. San Jacinto would grab back the momentum with two in the bottom of the inning to widen the lead to four. Saddleback would never get any closer as the Eagles would add two more runs in the eighth inning for insurance.
 Mt. San Jacinto pitcher Drew Madrigal (pictured) was on his game for most of the day, pitching a complete game and surrendering just six hits on the day. Madrigal was still hitting his spots and throwing into the high 80’s late in the game as the Eagles were trying to preserve their bullpen in anticipation of another game this afternoon against the Cypress/Orange Coast loser.
Ross started and lasted just three innings for Saddleback in falling to 10-4 on the season. He gave way to Rich Kemp, who gave up two runs in three innings of work before Joe Richardson came on to pitch the last two innings of the season for the Gauchos.
Mt. San Jacinto improved to 34-12 on the season with the win and will play again on Saturday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. at Orange Coast College. The Eagles will face the loser of the Cypress College/Orange Coast College game played this afternoon.
Saddleback finishes the season 29-20.
5/15/09: Gauchos fall to Orange Coast
 The road to the state tournament just got a little tougher for the Gauchos, who fell to host Orange Coast College 13-8 in the second game of the Southern California Super Regional tournament and now must win four straight games -- two Saturday and two on Sunday -- to qualify for next weekend's state tournament in Fresno.
Saddleback found itself trailing by a baker's dozen after seven innings of play as the Pirates rallied for four runs in the third and fourth innings and added three more runs in the fifth inning. Despite getting several runners on base and collecting a couple of hits, the Gauchos couldn't post any runs on the scoreboard until the eighth inning. Saddleback collected nine hits and eight runs off of Orange Coast's bullpen in the last 2 1/3 innings, including seven runs in the eighth inning, to pull within a rally of tying the score. The Gauchos added one run in the ninth inning and had runners at second and third with one out before a pop up and a strikeout ended the game.
Designated hitter Chris Mata (pictured at right) was 4-for-5 at the plate for the Gauchos (29-19) while center fielder Brett Vertigan was 3-for-5 and Lars Liguori was 2-for-2, helping to spark the offense as a late-inning substitute. Bobby Brown (pictured above) pitched the final two innings, allowing just one run.
Saddleback will play Mt. San Jacinto College on Saturday starting at 11:00 a.m. at Golden West College in an elimination game. The loser of that game is eliminated from the tournament and the winner advances to play a 4:00 p.m. game against the loser of a 12:00 p.m. matchup between Orange Empire Conference rivals Cypress and Orange Coast. Cypress defeated Mt. San Jacinto 6-0 in the first game of the Super Regional on Friday.
5/13/09: Baseball opens super regional with No. 2 Orange Coast
The Saddleback baseball team is playing its finest ball of the year and at just the right time. The Gauchos defeated College of the Canyons last weekend to advance to the Southern California super regional tournament at Orange Coast College where they will take on the host Pirates in an opening round game on Friday at 4:00 p.m.
  Saddleback entered the playoffs last weekend as the No. 9 seed and traveled to Santa Clarita, California, where they defeated Canyons in a best-of-three series. Now the Gauchos will take on No. 2 Orange Coast, No. 4 Cypress and No. 7 Mt. San Jacinto in a regional, with the winner moving on to the state tournament the following weekend.
Saddleback opens up against Orange Coast on Friday against a Pirate team that spent a large part of the season as the top-ranked team in Southern California. OCC is 31-13 on the season and at one point reeled off 12 straight wins in opening up a two-game lead in the Orange Empire Conference in late March. The Pirates then hit a few bumps in the road down the stretch, including a 3-2 setback to the Gauchos on the final day of the regular season, in settling for a 3-way tie for the conference title with Cypress and Santa Ana.
Orange Coast had a number of players recognized as all conference following the season but none better than Orange Empire Conference Player of the Year Brett Wallach (pictured). The son of former Gaucho and major leaguer Tim Wallach finished 7-1 on the mound with a 2.18 ERA, while batting .352 at the plate with three home runs and 41 RBI and playing first base on his off days. The Pirates had three other players that made the OEC First Team in relief pitcher Brett Williams and infielders Drew Hillman (pictured) and Beck Wheeler. Williams finished the season 4-2 with a 2.01 ERA while Hillman batted .369 and finished second in the conference with 10 home runs. Wheeler also proved to be a tough out at the plate, batting .357 for the season for Orange Coast.
  Despite all the numbers and fanfare for Orange Coast, Saddleback still managed to finish 2-2 versus the Pirates, outscoring OCC 18-17 in the process. The Gauchos ruined what was supposed to be an outright conference title for the Pirates on the final day of the season when relief pitcher Scott Myers started for Saddleback and was nearly unhittable, surrendering just four hits in eight innings in turning back OCC and making them settle for a share of the title.
With the recent success of Myers, Saddleback now has three legitimate front line pitchers that are all candidates to start game one. First Team All-OEC pitcher Robby Ross (pictured) is the likely starter but with Myers shutting down the Pirates in his last appearance against them and the emergence of Joe Richardson down the stretch, the Gauchos have three viable options. Saddleback is also hoping to keep the bats hot after a big weekend at the plate against Canyons where they had 34 hits in three games, including a 7-for-13 performance from Nick McManus (pictured).
Game time is set for 4:00 p.m. at Wendell Pickens Field on the campus of Orange Coast College. Cypress and Mt. San Jacinto will play in the opening game of the tournament at 12:00 p.m.
5/11/09: Baseball regional features familiar foes
 The Saddleback baseball team will play in a Southern California Super Regional Tournament this weekend at Orange Coast College for the rights to play in the State Tournament the following weekend. The double-elimination regional will feature two other programs from the Orange Empire Conference and a third team the Gauchos have faced during the course of the season.
Saddleback (29-18) rode the hot hand of pitcher Scott Myers (pictured) in beating College of the Canyons on Saturday in advancing to the Super Regional, where they will face conference foe and co-Orange Empire Conference champion Orange Coast College (31-13) in the opening game on Friday at 4:00 p.m. The regional also features Orange Empire Conference co-champion Cypress College (31-14) and Foothill Conference co-champion Mt San Jacinto College (33-11).
  Despite finishing in fourth place in the rugged OEC, Saddleback is 6-2 against the teams in the Super Regional during the course of the season. The Gauchos finished 2-2 versus Orange Coast, 3-0 against Cypress and 1-0 against Mt. San Jacinto. In addition, Saddleback has outscored the three opponents 57-33 in the eight games played this season.
The regional will feature 28 players that were mentioned as all conference players, including three that were player-of-the-year in their conference. Orange Coast pitcher/first baseman Brett Wallach (pictured), son of former Gaucho Tim Wallach, was the Player-of-the-Year in the Orange Empire Conference while Mt. San Jacinto players Drew Madrigal and B.J. Salsbury (pictured) were the Player-of-the-Year and Pitcher-of-the-Year respectively in the Foothill Conference. Cypress led all the teams with nine players on the All-Orange Empire Conference teams led by catcher Parker Berberet (pictured). Saddleback had four players listed on the post-season list, led by starting pitcher Robby Ross.
5/9/09: Gauchos take series from Cougars, advance to Super Regional
 Saddleback advanced to the second round of the regional playoffs by winning the third and decisive game in a best-of-three series at College of the Canyons on Saturday by a 6-4 score and will advance to next weekend's four-team, double-elimination Super Regional at Orange Coast College.
After defeating the Cougars in the series opener on Friday afternoon, the Gauchos needed one more win to take the series. Canyons wouldn't go quietly as the Cougars jumped out to a 12-2 lead in Saturday morning's second game of the series. Saddleback would score once in the eighth and three times in the ninth before the rally stalled. The Gauchos had a single followed by three consecutive walks, a hit batsmen, and another single to score three times to lead off the ninth inning before grounding into a double play and another ground out ended the game, 12-6. Josh Leite and Jeff Montenegro each had two hits and two RBI for the Gauchos in the loss.
So, with
the decisive third game getting underway, the Gauchos made no qualms about whether or not they wanted the victory. Brett Vertigan led off the game with a solo home run to give Saddleback a quick lead in the first inning. Nick McManus (pictured) led off the second inning with a double and came in to score to add to the lead. With one out in the third inning, Chris Mata walked and Dalton Sype followed with a home run to give Saddleback a 4-1 lead. And in the fifth inning, Montenegro walked with one out, shortstop Darren Coombs singled, and catcher Tyler Krobetzky doubled to drive home another run. The Gauchos added an insurance run in the seventh inning as Sype reached on a fielder's choice and McManus stroked a two-out double to drive him in.
McManus finished with three hits while Coombs and Krobetzky each had two hits. All three players drove in a run. Scott Myers pitched five innings to earn the win, giving up just four hits and allowing just one earned run. Rich Kemp closed out the last four innings to earn the save, scattering two hits and allowing one run.
With one other upset in the South (Mt. San Antonio defeated Cuesta), Saddleback now takes over the No. 7 position and will play No. 2-seed Orange Coast College in the first round of the Super Regional hosted by the Pirates. That game is scheduled to start at 4:00 p.m. on Friday, May 15, on the Costa Mesa college campus. Cypress and Mt. San Jacinto colleges will meet in the opening 12:00 p.m. game of that tournament.
The other Southern California Super Regional will be played at Palomar College and will feature matchups
between Santa Ana and Long Beach in the first game followed by Palomar hosting Mt. San Antonio in the afternoon contest.
The Northern California playoffs had three upsets, including state tournament host Fresno City College getting ousted in the first round. At Ohlone College, Ohlone will play San Jose and Diablo Valley will play Cosumnes River. In a Super Regional at Feather River College, Feather River will play Sierra and San Mateo will battle San Joaquin Delta.
Scores of all games and post-season bracketing can be found at www.coasports.org or at www.spincostats.com.
5/8/09: Whyte powers Gauchos past Canyons in first game
 Saddleback won the first game in the best-of-three series against College of the Canyons on Friday, getting some solid hitting help from sophomore first baseman Trevor Whyte in a 12-10 victory over the Cougars.
Whyte, who is headed for UC Santa Barbara in the fall, went 4-for-4 with three runs scored and six RBI in the victory over the Cougars. Whyte hit a solo homerun in the third inning, added a 2-run homerun in the fifth inning, and a two-run single in the sixth inning to help the Gauchos take a 1-0 lead in the series.
The Gauchos and Cougars will square off again at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday.
5/5/09: Four Gauchos earn all conference honors
  The Saddleback baseball team is preparing for the Southern California playoffs this coming weekend but received some good news on Tuesday as they had four players named to the All-Orange Empire Conference Team. Pitchers Robby Ross and Scott Myers along with first baseman Trevor Whyte and third baseman Dalton Sype were all recognized by the conference for their play on the field.
Both Ross and Whyte were named to the first team all-conference list while Myers and Sype earned second team honors. The foursome was part of a Saddleback team that finished 27-17 during the regular season, earning the No. 9 seed in the playoffs starting this Friday.
Ross led the pitching staff with a 9-3 record and a 2.74 ERA in 102 innings of work. Opponents batted just .263 against the talented lefty who struck out 37 against only 14 walks.
Whyte was a machine both in the field and at the plate. He batted .311 for the season with four home runs and 33 RBI on offense while committing just five errors in the field for the entire season.
Myers was a workhorse in the pen for the Gauchos, making 18 appearances and finishing second on the team with a 2.21 ERA for the year. He struck out 26 batters in 36 innings of work as opponents batted just .211 when he was on the mound, finishing 2-0 with three saves.
Sype led Saddleback in power numbers with six home runs and 40 RBI for the season while batting .331. He was also a pillar on the left side of the infield, finishing with a .949 fielding percentage while playing the hot corner.
Click here for the entire All-Orange Empire Conference teams.
5/5/09:
Baseball preparing for playoffs at Canyons
The Saddleback baseball team found out it will be traveling to College of the Canyons for the first round of the Southern California Regional Playoffs starting on Friday. The Gauchos were seeded No. 9 in the south with Canyons being seeded No. 8.
 Saddleback (27-17) enters the playoffs for the first time in three seasons on a hot streak as the Gauchos have won three straight games and nine of its past 11. Saddleback finished in fourth place in the Orange Empire Conference but just two games back of Orange Coast, Santa Ana and Cypress, who all finished in a three-way tie for the conference title. Saddleback finished 5-0 against foes from the Western States Conference, beating West Los Angeles three times (13-8, 14-3, 16-2), Los Angeles Valley once (6-0) and Bakersfield once (6-5). The Gauchos finished with the No. 6 RPI rankings in Southern California.
Canyons (25-16-1) was the champions of the Western States Conference South Division, where they finished 20-8 in conference play. The Cougars, however, struggled outside of their own conference, finishing just 5-8-1. They finished 1-1 against Orange Empire Conference competition, beating Cypress (12-9) and losing to Orange Coast (20-3). Canyons finished with the No. 14 RPI ranking in Southern California and it is the third straight season the Cougars have qualified for the Southern California playoffs, as they were the No. 8 seed in 2008 and the No. 14 seed in 2007.
  Saddleback is led on offense by a pesky lineup that features eight regular players batting over .300 on the season. Sean Parvin led the Gauchos with a .398 batting average in 37 games. Dalton Sype led Saddleback with six home runs and 40 RBI on the season while Brett Vertigan finished 11-for-15 in stolen bases. The Gaucho pitching staff bounced back nicely after the loss of ace Zac Johnson to injury on opening day. The two-headed monster of Robby Ross (9-3) and Joe Richardson (8-4) stepped up and assumed leadership roles in the rotation, as Ross finished with a 2.74 ERA in 102 innings of work while Richardson finished with a 3.39 ERA, leading the team in strikeouts (51).
Canyons is led on offense by a powerful lineup that includes three players with seven or more home runs. Trevor Bloom (pictured left) is the headliner for the Cougars, batting .388 on the season with eight homers, 51 RBI and a .477 slugging percentage. The ace of the pitching staff for Canyons is Trevor McDonald (pictured right), who finished 7-0 with a 3.45 ERA. The hard-luck pitcher of the year for the Cougars was Chipper Smith, who finished just 5-4 despite leading Canyons in ERA (2.57), strikeouts (63) and opponents’ batting average (.226).
A look inside the numbers:
Saddleback:
Batting Average, .307
Home Runs, 16
Walks Batting, 153
Strikeouts Batting, 216
Stolen Bases, 52-of-68
Team ERA, 4.28
Home Runs Surrendered, 20
Strikeouts Pitching, 238
Walks Pitching, 147
Fielding Percentage, .961
Canyons:
Batting Average, .306
Home Runs, 51
Walks Batting, 167
Strikeouts Batting, 273
Stolen Bases, 40-of-56
Team ERA, 5.15
Home Runs Surrendered, 35
Strikeouts Pitching, 259
Walks Pitching, 146
Fielding Percentage, .958
5/3/09: Saddleback headed to Canyons to start playoffs
 The Saddleback baseball team found out on Sunday that it will be seeded ninth in the regional playoffs and will have to travel to eighth-seeded College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita for a best-of-three game series starting on Friday, May 8.
The Gauchos (27-17) missed the regional playoffs the past two years but have participated in post-season play in five of the past eight seasons and 12 of the past 16 seasons. Although post-season play is nothing new to head coach Jack Hodges and his Gaucho squads, it's always a nice caveat at the end of the season to be considered for post-season play. And Saddleback has done well in the post-season, winning the state championship in 2004 and finishing as state runners-up in 2003 and 1998. The Gauchos finished fourth in the Orange Empire Conference with a 15-9 record this season.
Canyons (25-16)
won the Western State Conference South Division, posting a 20-8 conference record. That's a good record in conference, but leaves the Cougars with just a 5-8 record outside of conference play. The Cougars went 1-1 against Orange Empire Conference teams with varying results, beating Cypress 12-9 but falling to Orange Coast 20-3.
Saddleback faired much better against WSC South Division teams, posting a 5-0 record and being tested by Bakersfield before winning 6-5. The Gauchos blanked Los Angeles Valley by a 6-0 count and swept three games from West Los Angeles to start the season, outscoring the Wildcats 43-13 in those three games.
The winner of the Saddleback-Canyons matchup will advance to one of the two four-team, double-elimination Super Regional
tournaments on May 15-17
5/2/09: Saddleback spoils OCC victory party
In what was very likely the last home game for the sophomore players on the baseball roster, the Gauchos upset Orange Coast College, 3-2, thus creating a three-way tie at the top of the Orange Empire Conference standings. Scott Myers pitched eight strong innings in his first start of the season as Saddleback kept OCC from winning the conference title outright.
 Myers (pictured left) was brilliant all afternoon, allowing just four hits and one walk through eight innings of work against an Orange Coast team that has now lost four of its last seven games. The lone earned-run against Myers was a solo home run by Ricky Stokes to lead off the third inning for the Pirates.
Meanwhile, Saddleback needed only one inning on offense as the Gauchos scored three times in the fourth inning to provide all the spark they would need. With one out, Dalton Sype and Trevor Whyte both singled to give Saddleback runners at the corners trailing 1-0. Nick McManus then flied to center, but deep enough to score Sype from third and the Gauchos had tied the game at 1-1. Whyte then stole second base to put the go-ahead run in scoring position. After a walk to Josh Leite to set up a possible force out, Chris Mata then gave the Gauchos the lead for good with a single to left field. Darren Coombs provided the final blow with a run-scoring single up the middle, knocking in Leite to give Saddleback a 3-1 lead. Mata would end up being the star of offense for the Gauchos, finishing 3-for-3 on the day including the game-winning hit in the fourth inning.
Saddleback chased Orange Coast starter Calvin Drummond after facing one batter in the fifth inning, as all three runs against Drummond were earned in falling to 7-4 on the season.
Lars Liguori finished up a perfect ninth inning for the Gauchos to pick up his first save of the season. Liguori made quick work of the Pirates, striking out one to go along with two lazy groundouts to preserve the win.
Saddleback will now sit back and wait for the announcement about the playoffs, which start next Friday. The Gauchos finished in fourth place in the Orange Empire Conference, but just two games out of first place as Orange Coast, Santa Ana and Cypress all finished in a three-way tie for the conference title. The pairings for the playoffs are expected to be announced some time on Sunday. Saddleback finished the regular season at 27-17 overall and 15-9 in conference play.
4/30/09: Gauchos score early and often in latest win
 The Saddleback baseball team is finishing strong in conference play and on Thursday they scored four runs in the first inning on way to an 11-4 over Golden West College. The Gauchos pounded out 14 hits and received a strong pitching performance from Joe Richardson (pictured left) in the win.
Saddleback shot out of the gate early as the first six batters reached base in chasing Golden West starting pitcher Nick Torres without recording an out. Leadoff hitter Brett Vertigan got things started with a double, one of three hits on the day for Vertigan. Nick McManus, Dalton Sype and Trevor Whyte would all join Vertigan with three hits on the day for the Gauchos.
Richardson was impressive all afternoon, spreading around eight hits while striking out six in improving to 8-4 on the season. He gave way to Taylor Burns in the eighth inning, who allowed just two batters to reach base in shutting down the Rustlers the rest of the way.
Saddleback improved to 26-17 overall and 14-9 in Orange Empire Conference play with the win. The Gauchos entered the day hoping they could close the gap between themselves and third place Cypress College to one game with one game remaining, but a 17-9 Charger win over Fullerton College on Thursday sealed the fate for Saddleback, who now will finish in fourth place in the OEC. The Gauchos finish the regular season on Friday at home against Orange Coast College at 2:00 p.m.
The win on Thursday further cements the case for Saddleback as a potential playoff team when the Southern California playoffs start next Friday. The Gauchos are rated No. 11 in the latest Coaches Association Poll released today. Friday’s opponent, Orange Coast, is rated No. 2 in the latest poll. The Southern California seeds for the playoffs are expected to be announced on Sunday.
Golden West fell to 13-26-2 overall and 5-18 in conference play with the loss.
4/25/09: Gauchos' comeback bid ends short in Santa Ana
 Saddleback dropped a 12-11 decision at Santa Ana in an Orange Empire Conference game on Saturday and will take a 24-17 record overall record and a 12-9 conference mark into the final week of the regular season.
The Gauchos jumped on the board early, scoring one run in the top of the first inning. Santa Ana answered with a run in the bottom half of the first and kept putting runs on the board as Saddleback stayed quiet through the sixth inning. The Gauchos found themselves trailing 11-1 going into the seventh.
As the Santa Ana winds started to pick up in the seventh inning, so did the Gauchos bats. Cole Mitro led off the inning with a pinch-hit homerun and Darren Coombs scored on a fielder’s choice. Santa Ana scored once in the bottom half of the inning giving the Dons a 12-3 lead going into the eighth.
After Mitro’s second homerun of the game in the eighth, the Gauchos still trailed 12-5 going into the last inning. Saddleback loaded the bases on two hit batsmen and a walk with only one out to start the ninth. Kelvin Mota (pictured) stepped up to the plate and singled to drive in one run for the Gauchos. Coombs and Chris Mata followed with back-to-back two-run singles, cutting the deficit to one run. However, the Gauchos were unable to capitalize anymore, allowing Santa Ana to escape with a 12-11 victory.
4/23/09:
Baseball falls to SAC in OEC battle
The Saddleback baseball team lost at home to Santa Ana College on Thursday, 6-2, in a key Orange Empire game at Doug Fritz Field. The good news for the Gauchos is that they will get one more crack at the Dons on Saturday in Santa Ana when the two teams face off at 12:00 p.m.
 Saddleback got off to a good start on Thursday, taking a 1-0 lead into the fifth inning before Santa Ana scored to tie the game a 1-1. The Dons then carried a 2-1 lead into the eighth inning when they scored three more times to take a 5-1 lead. The big blow for Santa Ana was a 2-run homer by Stephen Gonzales over the left-center field fence. Saddleback fought back in the bottom half of the inning with a run of their own but would leave the bases loaded, thus halting the comeback.
 Joe Richardson (pictured left) started for Saddleback and pitched well until falling into trouble in the eighth inning. Richardson (7-4) gave way to Scott Myers, who finished out the game for the Gauchos. The two pitchers combined for two strikeouts while surrendering 12 hits on the day.
Dalton Sype (pictured right) and Chris Mata led Saddleback on offense, both collecting two hits apiece against Santa Ana starter Nick Capito, who settled down after a slow start to finish with five strikeouts while improving to 9-2 on the season.
Saddleback falls to 24-16 overall and 12-8 in Orange Empire Conference play with the loss and now sits one game behind third place Cypress College, who lost at Riverside Community College on Thursday. Santa Ana improved to 29-10 overall and 14-6 in OEC play with the win and now lead the Gauchos by two games in the conference race.
4/23/09: Gaucho baseball players at the next level
The Saddleback baseball program has been one of the elite programs in Southern California for years and many have moved on to 4-year programs. This is a list of players that have moved on in recent years and how they are doing at the next level.
Gino Aielli, UCLA, IF/C, Sr.
’09 Stats: .342 BA, 76 AB, 1 HR, 9 RBI, 5-for-5 SB
Colin Rooney, Pepperdine, 3B, Jr.
’09 Stats: .330 BA, 115 AB, 3 HR, 20 RBI, .973 Fielding %
Rylan Ostrosky, Wright State, RHP, Sr.
’09 Stats: 4-3, 3.91 ERA, 53 IP, 32 K’s
Jeff Senters, Concordia, IF, Jr.
’09 Stats: .263 BA, 114 AB, .914 Fielding %
Max Kirk, Sonoma State, OF, Jr.
’09 Stats: .227 BA, 88 AB, .985 Fielding %
Chris Auten, New Mexico State, 1B, Sr.
’09 Stats: .364 BA, 11 AB,
Max Burnett, Patten University, C/ 3B, Jr.
’09 Stats: .259 BA, 108 AB, 2 HR, 13 RBI, .976 Fielding %
Shevis Shima, Cal State Fullerton, IF, Sr.
’09 Stats: .083 BA, 12 AB
Devin Powers-Davis, UC San Diego, 1B, Jr.
’09 Stats: .143 BA, 7 AB
Brennan Thorpe, Portland State, RHP, Sr.
’09 Stats: 0-0, 10.80 ERA, 5IP,1 K
Dean Leffler, Tennessee, LHP, Jr.
’09 Stats: On roster, no stats.
4/21: Ross goes the distance to down Cypress
 Saddleback sophomore southpaw Robby Ross (8-3) pitched a complete-game victory over the Chargers on Tuesday, earning a 3-1 decision on an efficient afternoon on the hill.
Ross (pictured) was able to set the Chargers down in order in five pitches or less during two of the innings, keeping his pitch count low and his arm well-rested during the hot afternoon in Mission Viejo. He only recorded one strikeout but got 15 groundouts in the game which only lasted two hours and two minutes. Shortstop Darren Coombs had 10 balls hit to him while second baseman Chris Mata had six balls hit his way to account for a majority of Cypress' 27 outs.
Brett Vertigan went 4-for-4 at the plate for the Gauchos (24-15, 12-7), scoring in the first inning on Dalton Sype's two-run home run to put the Gauchos on the board early. First baseman Trevor Whyte had two hits, including an RBI single in the third inning to score Jeff Montenegro who had walked.
Saddleback pulled within one game of both Cypress (25-12, 13-6) and Santa Ana (28-10, 13-6) in the conference standings with five games to play. The Gauchos will try to catch Santa Ana
on Thursday when the Gauchos host the Dons in a 2:00 p.m. game at Doug Fritz Field.
4/18: McManus and Leite lead Gauchos in wild win over Cypress
Saddleback won a critical Orange Empire Conference game against Cypress College on Saturday, beating the Chargers 11-10 in 10 innings. Nick McManus (pictured) went 5-for-5 and Josh Leite hit a monstrous two-run homerun to send the game into extra innings.
The Gauchos couldn’t find a break in the first half of the game, falling behind 8-1 after the fifth inning. Trevor Whyte led off the sixth with a triple that started a scoring spree for the Gauchos. Saddleback then followed with hits by Chris Mata (scoring Whyte), McManus and Darren Coombs. Cypress made a pitching change with the bases loaded to bring in a left hander against Tyler Krobetzky who hit a bases clearing double, making the score 8-5.
The top of the seventh inning started similar to the sixth with singles by Whyte and Mata. Leite then hit a double, scoring both runners, and advanced to third on the throw. McManus stepped up to the plate and tied the score at 8-8 with his fourth straight hit of the game.
After the Gauchos gave up a two-run homerun in the bottom of the eighth, Mata led off the top of the ninth with a single and Leite hit a 400-foot homerun to deep right-center field to tie the ballgame, 10-10.
Saddleback's momentum carried into the extra inning as Brett Vertigan led off the top of the 10th inning and got hit by the pitch. Jeff Montenegro moved Vertigan to second and made it safe to first on a two-strike bunt single. Vertigan advanced to third on a ball in the dirt. Dalton Sype singled home Vertigan with what ended up being the game-winning RBI.
Saddleback improved to 23-15 overall and 11-7 in Orange Empire Conference play with the win. There will be a rematch of this game Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. at Saddleback. With a win on Tuesday, the Gauchos would be tied with Cypress for third place in the OEC.
4/16: Gauchos win key game at Riverside
 The Saddleback baseball team is entering the final stretch of the season and every game on the schedule is growing in size if the Gauchos are going to qualify for the Southern California playoffs. Saddleback defeated Riverside College, 14-4, on Thursday, and with the win moved two games in front of inter-district rival Irvine Valley College for fourth place in the Orange Empire Conference.
Saddleback held a tight 1-0 lead heading into the sixth inning when the Gauchos exploded for eight runs to blow the game wide open. Saddleback would score five more times in the eighth inning to take a 14-0 lead before the Tigers would finally break through with a run in the bottom of the eighth inning to break up the shutout.
Saddleback improved to 22-15 overall and 10-7 in Orange Empire Conference play with the win. The Gauchos are now two games ahead of Irvine Valley in fourth place in the conference with a key two-game set with Cypress College coming up on the schedule. Cypress is currently two games up on Saddleback for third place in the OEC after a 13-5 win over Fullerton yesterday. The Gauchos will travel to Cypress on Saturday for a 12:00 p.m. game before hosting the Chargers on Tuesday at 2:00 p.m.
Sophomore pitcher Joe Richardson (pictured) started and pitched seven solid innings for the Gauchos to improve to 6-3 on the season.
4/14: Whyte's home run downs Tigers
Trevor Whyte's solo home run to center field in the bottom of the eighth inning broke a 2-2 tie and sent Saddleback to a 3-2 victory over visiting Riverside Community College during an Orange Empire Conference game on Tuesday afternoon at Doug Fritz Field.
Riverside posted one run in the top of the first inning but Saddleback answered with a single run in the fifth inning to tie the score at 1-1 as Josh Leite doubled to lead off the inning, was advanced to third base by Nick McManus, and scored when Tyler Krobetzky's ground ball was misplayed by the Tigers' shortstop. Riverside answered right back in the top of the sixth inning on a two-out double followed by two singles. Saddleback would tie the score again at 2-2 in the bottom of the seventh inning as Krobetzky's sacrifice fly with the bases loaded allowed Leite to score from third.
Whyte's heroics came with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning when he drove a 3-2 fastball deep to center field. That run held up and made a winner out of starting pitcher Robby Ross (7-3) when Scott Myers came in to pitch the ninth inning and earn the save.
Leite was 3-for-4 for the Gauchos and scored twice.
4/11: Gauchos win two of three in Central Valley
Saddleback completed its swing through California's heartland by winning two of three baseball games and reaching the 20-win plateau on the season.
The Gauchos (20-15) took the long drive north and may have been a little sluggish coming off the bus as they fell to Sierra, 12-7, on the first day. Sierra posted 10 runs in the first three innings, causing Saddleback to play catch-up for the remainder of the game. Trevor Whyte hit a home run for the Gauchos in the fifth inning and the team added three more in the sixth but couldn't catch the Wolverines.
Saddleback bounced back with a decisive 12-1 victory over the host College of the Sequoias Giants the following day as Dalton Sype started the team's scoring barrage with a solo home run in the first inning with Robby Ross (6-3) picking up the victory on the mound.
The Gauchos closed out the road trip with a come-from-behind 6-5 victory at Bakersfield College. After scoring three times in the second inning, Saddleback gave up four runs in the fifth inning and another run in the sixth inning to fall behind 5-3. But the offense scored three more runs in the top of the eighth inning to make a winner out of reliever Joe Richardson (4-3), pictured.
4/2: Gauchos split two games with Fullerton
 Saddleback scored eight runs in the eighth inning to post a 12-6 home victory over Fullerton on Tuesday, then fell 7-2 to the same Hornet team in Fullerton on Thursday.
In Tuesday's victory, the Gauchos opened up a close 4-2 contest with eight runs in the eighth inning, collecting eight hits and taking advantage of one Fullerton error. The big blow was a pinch hit, three-run home run by Bobby Brown (pictured). Tyler Krobetzky had three hits for the Gauchos while Brett Vertigan, Sean Parvin, Trevor Whyte, Josh Leite and Darren Coombs each had two hits. Saddleback pitcher Joe Richardson picked up his fifth victory of the season.
Fullerton picked up a victory on its home field on Thursday heading into the scheduled spring break. Saddleback will head into the Central Valley to play three non-conference games during the week.
3/26: Baseball snaps skid with victory over Rustlers
Saddleback snapped a five-game losing streak with a 9-6 victory over Golden West on Thursday, highlighted by three hits from first baseman Trevor Whyte and a monster two-run home run by Bobby Brown (pictured).
The Gauchos (16-12, 6-5 in OEC) scored four runs in the second inning on five straight singles, capped off by a two-run single down the right field line by Brown. Saddleback added two more runs in the fourth inning to go up 6-1 as Chris Mata, Brett Vertigan, and Kelvin Mota hit consecutive singles with Mota driving in Mata. Dalton Sype added a sacrifice fly to score Vertigan.
Golden West made it interesting with three runs in the sixth inning, cutting its deficit to 6-4 and chasing Saddleback starter Joe Richardson then added another run in the seventh inning to make it a 6-5 score. But Saddleback scored three more in the seventh inning as Whyte singled and later scored on Jeff Montenegro's two-out single to center field. Brown followed with a two-run home run to left field to give Saddleback a 9-5 lead and the Gauchos held on in the ninth inning for the win.
Whyte led Saddleback's 14-hit attack with three singles while Vertigan, Brown, and Montenegro each had two hits. Richardson (4-3) earned the victory on the mound with Scott Myers pitching the final 2 1/3 innings for his first save.
Saddleback and Golden West will finish a game on Saturday, March 28, in Huntington Beach which was started on March 3rd but halted due to darkness in the eighth inning with Saddleback leading 15-13 and will then follow with a full, regularly-scheduled game.
3/21: Baseball falls to Orange Coast
Saddleback dropped a 5-1 decision to Orange Coast in a home Orange Empire Conference game on Saturday, falling to 5-4 in the conference standings.
Orange Coast (17-7, 8-2) scored twice in the top of the fourth inning on a flare down the right field line, a line drive back at the pitcher which was knocked down, a sacrifice fly to center field, and a single through the right side.
The Gauchos (15-11, 5-4 in OEC) hit the ball hard but could only pick up seven hits in the contest, including a pair of singles by second baseman Chris Mata. Trevor Whyte hit a double off the wall in left-center field with one out in the bottom of the fourth, stole third base, and scored on Darren Coombs' single up the middle. That would be the extent of the Gauchos' scoring as the team stranded a runner at third base in the third inning and runners at first and second in the sixth inning. Both teams left eight runners on base.
Rich Kemp pitched well for the Gauchos early and was lifted with two outs in the fifth inning with two runners on base. Reliever Scott Myers gave up a two-run triple to the first batter he faced, then settled down to strike out four batters in three and one-third innings. Kemp absorbed the loss for his first decision of the year. Chris Licon pitched a complete game for the Pirates.
3/19: Gauchos drop third conference game
 After winning seven straight games and shooting to the top of the conference standings, the Gauchos baseball team has now dropped three straight games and has slipped to fourth place in the standings . . . but still only one game out of first place.
Saddleback fell to Irvine Valley 12-5 on Thursday as the Lasers took advantage of "little ball". Irvine Valley collected 19 hits on the afternoon (16 singles, three doubles, only one strikeout) as it erased Saddleback's early 3-0 lead by tying the score at 3-3 in the fifth inning and then scoring two runs in the sixth, five in the seventh, and two more in the eighth as everything seemed to going right for the Lasers (11-12, 4-5). Irvine's 5-run seventh inning saw seven consecutive Lasers reach base on three singles, a catcher's interference, two more singles, and a walk before the Gauchos recorded an out.
The Gauchos (15-10, 5-3) started a rally in the bottom of the seventh as Jeff Lucero (pictured) and Chris Mata both singled to start the inning and shortstop Darren Coombs' single up the middle with one out scored both runners. A ground out and a strike out ended the rally and the Gauchos were retired quietly in the eighth and ninth innings.
Brett Vertigan had two hits and scored twice for Saddleback while Mata also had two hits and scored one run. Saddleback will host Orange Coast College on Saturday at noon.
3/10: Gauchos still undefeated in conference play
The Saddleback Gauchos are the only team to remain undefeated in Orange Empire Conference play after beating Cypress College 7-1 on Tuesday afternoon in Mission Viejo.
Sophomore southpaw Robby Ross (pictured) threw a complete game to pick up his fifth win of the season and needed little time to retire the Chargers. The game lasted only two hours and twenty minutes as Ross forced 17 groundouts.
Saddleback scored once in the second inning after Dalton Sype's ground ball went past the Chargers' first baseman and down the line for a leadoff double. Sean Parvin followed with a single up the middle and Trevor Whyte's high chopper to shortstop was able to score Sype.
The Gauchos blew the game open in the fifth inning as they scored six runs to take a 7-0 lead. After a pair of one-out walks, Kelvin Mota singled just out of the reach of the Chargers' shortstop to drive in one run and Brett Vertigan followed with a single to right field that pushed across another run. Sype's groundout scored Mota and Parvin followed with an RBI-single which scored Sype. Whyte followed with a two run blast over the right field fence for two more RBI.
Offensively for the Gauchos, Sype and Parvin each collected two hits while Whyte accounted for three RBI.
Saddleback improves to 15-7 overall and 5-0 in conference play while Cypress dips to 15-6 overall and 5-1 in conference action. Saddleback will play at Santa Ana on Thursday.
3/7: Baseball team defeats Riverside in 10th
The Saddleback College Gauchos remained undefeated in Orange Empire Conference play with a 10-inning, 5-2 win over the Riverside City College Tigers Saturday afternoon at the Evans Sports Complex.
In the tenth for Saddleback (14-7, 4-0 OEC), LF Kelvin Mota walked to lead off the frame, was sacrificed to second base by CF Brett Ventigan, and scored on a RBI-single by 2B Sean Parvin. Sophomore 1B Trevor Whyte singled Parvin to third and stole second on a strikeout before both Gauchos scored on a bloop single to short left field by DH Josh Leite.
Riverside (11-9, 2-3 OEC) took a 1-0 lead in the third when sophomore C Michael Neff walked and scored on a RBI-single by freshman CF Edwin Mendoza.
Saddleback took a 2-1 lead in the sixth when, with two outs, Vertigan doubled, Parvin singled home Vertigan, Whyte singled before freshman C Dalton Sype singled up the middle, scoring Parvin.
 RCC countered in the seventh when sophomore 2B (later moved to catcher) Brett Hambright singled to left-center field and moved to second when CF Vertigan left the ball get past. Sophomore 1B Daniel Duran singled home Hambright. The Tigers almost retook the lead when sophomore LF Bryce Holland was hit by the pitch and pinch-hitter Joseph Williams drew a walk to load the bases. In came Gaucho reliever Scott Myers (pictured) who induced sophomore DH Tanner Hoechlin to hit back to the box to start a 1-2-3 double play to end the inning with the teams tied at 2-2.
Myers pitched 3-2/3 innings to get the win and improve to 1-0, while Travis Bender (1-1), who also pitched 3-2/3 innings, suffered the loss.
Saddleback starter Joe Richardson went 6-1/3 innings and allowed two runs (both earned) on three hits, while RCC starter Benji Anaya went 5-2/3 innings and also allowed two runs (both earned) on five hits.
3/5: Gauchos hit 2 slams in win over Hornets
Saddleback experienced a power surge while at Fullerton College on Thursday, hitting two grand slams on the way to a 13-1 victory.
 Darrin Coombs' (pictured) fourth inning grand slam broke a 0-0 tie and Dalton Sype's sixth inning grand slam added to a 6-0 Saddleback lead as the visiting Gauchos cruised to the victory. Saddleback starting pitcher Robbie Ross went seven strong innings, allowing just one run on five hits. He struck out four and did not allow a walk.
Bobby Brown, Sype, and Darrin Coombs each had two hits on the day for the Gauchos. Coombs also accounted for five RBI's.
3/3: Game at Golden West suspended due to darkness
In a game halted in the top of the ninth by darkness, the visiting Gauchos lead Golden West College 15-13. The game will be resumed the next time the two teams meet prior to the regularly scheduled game. Both sides collected 17 hits on the day in a see-saw battle that saw Saddleback trail 8-3 entering the fifth inning. The Gauchos would score six runs in the inning, highlighted by Trevor Whyte's three-run home run and key RBI singles by Jeff Montenegro and Kelvin Mota to take a 10-8 lead. Golden West closed the gap to 10-9 in the sixth, but Saddleback scored four more runs in the seventh highlighted by Brett Vertigan's bases loaded triple. The Rustlers answered with three runs in the bottom of the seventh to keep the game close. Each team would score a single run in eighth.
Chris Mata led the Gauchos with three hits. Montenegro, Vertigan, Whyte, Dalton Sype, Josh Leite, and Darrin Coombs each had two hits.
2/28: Baseball pounds Pirates
Saddleback starter Joe Richardson pitched five and one-third innings, allowing one run on five hits, and teammate Trevor Whyte (pictured) was nearly perfect at the plate, going 4-for-5, as Saddleback defeated Orange Coast 11-2 on Saturday afternoon at Orange Coast College.
The Gauchos scored one one in the first, two in the second, and added eight runs over the final four innings to break open a close game. Kelvin Mota and Brett Vertigan had key 2-run doubles in the eighth and ninth innings, respectively. Jeff Terzo and Scott Myers pitched in relief of Richardson, allowing just one run on two hits.
Mota, Josh Leite, and Chris Mata each had two hits for Saddleback.
2/26: Gauchos Win Conference Opener Over Lasers
Saddleback opened up the Orange Empire Conference baseball schedule with a tough battle against district rival Irvine Valley College. The two teams battled for over eight innings, collecting 17 hits between the two clubs, until the winning run was finally scored . . . on a hit batsmen.
In front of a vocal crowd, the Gauchos got on the scoreboard first by pushing across a run in the second inning when Trevor Whyte doubled to right field, driving in Dalton Sype. But Irvine Valley added two runs in the top of the third and Saddleback was forced to rally for another run in the fifth to tie the score at 2-2. Darren Coombs beat out an infield single then advanced to second on a wild pickoff attempt by Lasers' starting pitcher Matt Reyes. Chris Mata and Jeff Montenegro layed down back-to-back bunts to score Coombs.
Saddleback took the lead in the seventh inning as Mata doubled and moved to third on a bunt single by Montenegro. A pickoff move caught Montenegro off of first base but in the rundown Mata broke for home. The throw home halted Mata, who headed back towards third base until making a quick u-turn, ducking under the charging Laser catcher, and racing for home to put the Gauchos up 3-2.
Again, Irvine Valley battled back and scored in the top of the eighth to tie the score, leading to Saddleback's ninth inning heroics. Pinch hitter Dylan Tortarolo singled to right to start off the inning and Cole Mitro replaced him as a pinch runner. Coombs ground ball to the first baseman was thrown wide of second base and Montenegro walked to load the bases. Left fielder Kelvin Mota was hit by the first pitch he saw from Gary Gerhardt, pushing the winning run across the plate.
Mota and Sean Parvin each had two hits for the Gauchos (11-7, 1-0), with Mota, Whyte, and Mata each hitting doubles. Starting pitcher Robby Ross pitched 7 2/3 strong innings for the Gauchos but Tim Troyer (2-1) picked up the victory for getting the last four outs.
2/23: Gauchos Score 18 in Win Over Eagles
Saddleback pushed 18 runs across the plate on 14 hits, and the Gauchos took advantage of five Eagle errors in defeating Mt. San Jacinto College 18-4 on Monday afternoon at Doug Fritz Field.
The runs didn't come easily at first and the game lasted nearly four hours, but in the end it was worth the extra effort as 22 Gauchos saw the field. After giving up a pair of runs in the top of the second inning, Saddleback answered back with three of its own in the bottom of the inning when Chris Mata doubled down the right field line and Brett Vertigan doubled to deep left center to go along with a wild pitch as the Gauchos took a 3-2 lead. The Eagles tied the score at 3-3 in the top of the fifth inning but Saddleback went ahead for good in the bottom of the fifth as Trevor Whyte drove in a run with an infield single to deep shortstop and both Kelvin Mota and Jeff Montenegro beat out double-play attempts by the Eagles with a runner on third scoring both times.
Saddleback was able to add five runs in the sixth inning and six runs in the seventh inning to break the game open. Sean Parvin ended up with three hits in the game while Mata, Montenegro, Vertigan, and Dalton Sype each had two hits apiece. Parvin, Sype, and Whyte each came around to score three times.
Saddleback improves to 10-7 on the season and reliever Jeff Terzo improves to 2-0 after pitching 1 and 2/3 inning, allowing just one unearned run.
2/17: Saddleback Mashes Mesa
Saddleback pounded out 15 hits to score 10 runs in a 10-3 non-conference victory over visiting San Diego Mesa Tuesday afternoon.
Brett Vertigan was 4-for-5 for the Gauchos (7-6) while Sean Parvin and Josh Leite each went 3-for-4 on the afternoon. Parvin collected a team-high three RBI while Leite, Dalton Sype, and Darren Coombs each drove in two runs. Vertigan had two doubles while Leite and Coombs also collected doubles. The Gauchos opened up the scoring with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning and scored six more runs in the fifth inning to break open a 3-2 game on an RBI single by Parvin, a two-run single by Sype, a two-run double by Leite, and an RBI single by Coombs.
Starting pitcher Robby Ross (3-0) picked up his third win of the season by striking out three Olympian batters and walking just one before being relieved in the middle of the sixth inning with a 9-2 lead.
2/14: Gauchos Win Valentine's Day Doubleheader
Saddleback had a love affair with scoring runs during a pair of Valentine's Day victories Saturday, blanking Los Angeles Valley 6-0 and then throttling Victor Valley 17-5 in a shortened game.
Joe Richardson (pictured) threw Saddleback's second consecutive complete game victory, striking out six Monarchs without walking any batters and scattering four hits to pick up his second win of the season. Dalton Sype had a big offensive game, going 3-for-4 with three RBI. Sype hit a solo home run in the second inning, added an RBI double in the fourth inning, and finished with an RBI single in the seventh inning. Brett Vertigan and Sean Parvin hit back-to-back RBI doubles in the fifth inning and both batters finished with a pair of hits.
In the evening game, Saddleback sent 13 batters to the plate in the first inning and took advantage of four Victor Valley errors to score eight runs on the way to the big victory. Vertigan came up to bat twice in the opening frame, stroking a two-run single each time. Cole Shidaki added an run-scoring double and Kelvin Mota, who reached base in each of his five at-bats during the game, added and RBI single.
The Gauchos added six more runs in the third inning as Vertigan walked, stole second, and eventually scored on an infield single by Dylan Tortarolo. Josh Leite added an RBI single, Scott Myers hit a sacrifice fly, and Darren Coombs was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Vertigan came up a second time in the inning and added another 2-run single to finish the game 3-for-3 with six RBI. Leite had two hits and three RBI in the game which was reduced to seven innings.
2/12: Baseball Scores Early in Win Over Seahawks
Saddleback scored five runs in the bottom of the second inning and sophomore pitcher Robby Ross threw the Gauchos' first complete game in two years in earning an 8-1 victory over visiting Los Angeles Harbor College on Thursday afternoon.
The victory snapped a four-game skid by the Gauchos (4-5) and was sparked by the big second inning as Sean Parvin reached on an error by the Seahawks' shortstop and moved to second on Jeff Lucero's ground-out to the right side. Catcher Dalton Sype singled to center field, scoring Parvin to tie the score at 1-1. Left fielder Cole Shidaki then punched a two-out double down the right field line. Shortstop Darren Coombs  followed with a single to left field to drive in Sype with the go-ahead run. After Jeff Montenegro was hit by a pitch to load the bases and Chris Mata was walked to push across another run, center fielder Brett Vertigan singled up the middle to score both Coombs and Montenegro. The Gauchos ended up sending 10 batters to the plate in the inning.
Ross (pictured) picked up his second win of the season for the Gauchos as he scattered six hits and struck out four batters to become Saddleback's first pitcher to throw a complete game since Bryan Save tossed a 3-2 victory over Cypress College on May 3, 2007.
2/10: Gauchos Fall To Chaffey
Visiting Chaffey College scored a run in the top of the seventh inning to break a 1-1 tie and then went on to score three more in the eighth inning to turn back the Gauchos, 6-3.
Darren Coombs accounted for two hits and two RBI, but the Gauchos stranded 11 runners on base. The Saddleback pitching staff was busy as nine hurlers took to the mound. Jeff Terzo started the game and pitched four innings, scattering four hits and allowing just one run. He left the game with the score tied and did not earn a decision.
Saddleback will try to stop a four-game skid when it hosts Los Angeles Harbor College on Thursday (Feb. 12) starting at 2:00 p.m. on Doug Fritz field.
2/07/09: Gauchos Drop Two Games to Vaqueros
Saddleback dropped a pair of close games to visiting Santa Barbara City College on Sunday by scores of 6-4 and 9-8. In the first game, Dalton Sype collected three hits including a double and an RBI as Saddleback jumped out to a 4-0 lead by the fourth inning. But Santa Barbara battled back, scoring three runs with two outs in the sixth inning and two more runs with two out in the seventh inning to take a 5-4 lead. The Vaqueros added a single run in the ninth. Saddleback left 10 runners on base, including at least one in each inning except the sixth.
In the nightcap, Saddleback scored first as Sype drew a bases-loaded walk in the first inning to push across the first run. Trevor Whyte's 2-run double in the fifth inning gave the Gauchos a 3-2 lead, but Santa Barbara plated five runs with two outs in the sixth inning to take a 7-5 lead and added two more in the eighth inning on a two-out double to go up 9-5. Saddleback rallied in the bottom of the ninth inning on back-to-back singles by Whyte and Sype and loaded the bases with two outs when Sean Parvin walked. Pinch hitter Jake Fields stroked a double to left field to clear the bases but was thrown out at third base to end the game. Whyte and Sype each had two hits for the Gauchos. Fields had three RBI while Jeff Lucero and Whyte each knocked in two runs.
2/06/09: Games vs. Santa Barbara Changed
Saddleback's three-game series against Santa Barbara City College has been moved back a day due to the weather, head coach Jack Hodges said.
Friday's 6:00 p.m. game will be moved back 24 hours and will be played on Saturday night at 6:00 p.m. The doubleheader orginally scheduled to start at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday will now be scheduled for 12:00 p.m. on Sunday.
Saddleback is 3-2 this season while Santa Barbara is 4-1 heading into this series.
2/03/09: Gauchos Fall at Palomar
Saddleback was shut out 2-0 at Palomar on Tuesday as the Comet pitching staff limited the Gauchos to just three hits and Saddleback stranded nine runners on base.
Dalton Sype was credited with a double while Darren Coombs and Sean Parvin each collected singles but it was an odd day for a Saddleback team which had just pounded out an average of 14 hits in a three game sweep over West Los Angeles a few days ago.
 Saddleback starter Tim Troyer (pictured) struck out five and didn't walk any batters in 4 2/3 innings but absorbed the loss after giving up a leadoff home run in the second inning.
1/31/09: Gauchos Take Two From Wildcats
The Gaucho baseball team swept a Saturday doubleheader from West Los Angeles, winning the first game 14-3 and then adding a 16-2 victory in the second game.
 Saddleback pounded out 16 hits in the first game with Jeff Montenegro, Kelvin Mota, Jeff Lucero, and Darren Coombs each collecting two hits. Mota had a double and a triple in the contest while catcher Dalton Sype (pictured) launched a three-run home run in the sixth inning as Saddleback plated eight runs to break away from the Wildcats. Starting pitcher Robby Ross threw six shutout innings, striking out six while scattering two hits to earn the win.
In the afternoon contest, Saddleback collected another 16 hits with centerfielder Brett Vertigan going 3-for-3 and scored three runs. Mota, Chris Mata, and Bobby Brown each had two hits for the Gauchos. Mota had three RBI and also came around to score three times.
West L.A. pitchers had control problems from the start, accounting for four hit batsmen, four wild pitches, and three balks in the first game and another five hit batsmen, three wild pitches, and nine walks in the second game.
The Gauchos (3-1) will travel to Palomar on Tuesday, Feb. 3, before returning home for a 6:00 p.m. game against Santa Barbara City College on Friday, Feb. 6, and a doubleheader with SBCC on Satureay, Feb. 7, starting at noon.
1/30/09: Baseball finds its winning ways
The Gaucho baseball team defeated West Los Angeles College, 13-8, on Friday afternoon at Saddleback College. Saddleback exploded for seven runs in the fourth inning as 12 batters came to the plate in the inning.
It took the Saddleback College baseball team nearly 1.5 games to find its bats but when it did, they were impressive. The Gauchos sent 12 players to the plate in the fourth inning in turning a 6-2 deficit into a 9-6 lead. Jeff Lucero (pictured) led the charge, collecting two hits himself in the inning. He led off the fourth with a single to right field and later tripled to right-center field to give Saddleback a 3-run cushion.
A collection of five Gaucho pitchers led by Tim Troyer combined for nine strikeouts on the day. Troyer entered the game in the fifth inning with two outs and pitched through the eighth, striking out four and allowing just two hits to pick up the win.
The Saddleback offense was led by Lucero, Jeff Montenegro and Sean Parvin, who accounted for nine of the 11 Gaucho hits on the day. All three players finished with three hits, with Montenegro leading the way with three RBI.
Saddleback improves to 1-1 on the season with the win and will play West Los Angeles again twice on Saturday at Saddleback College. The first pitch is scheduled for 12-noon.
1/27/09:
Baseball drops opening-day game
The Saddleback Gauchos knew opening day was going to be anything but a picnic as they welcomed to town a Southwestern College team with nearly 20 sophomores from a team that lost in the state championship in 2008. Saddleback fell behind early and was unable to regroup in an 8-2 loss to the Jaguars.
 The Gauchos fell behind 3-0 headed to the bottom of the third when Kelvin Mota (pictured) led off the inning with an infield single for Saddleback. Mota then advanced to second when Jaguar third baseman Adrian Bringas slipped when trying to throw out Aaron Lystang on another infield single. He later would score the first of run of the season for the Gauchos on a sacrifice fly by Darren Coombs. That, however, would be as close as Saddleback would get the rest of the day.
Southwestern later opened up the game with five unearned runs in the top of the sixth inning to take an 8-1 lead. The Gauchos committed four costly errors in the inning. Five Southwestern pitchers would surrender only six hits on the day. Eric Krause started on the mound for Southwestern and kept the Gauchos off balance through three innings in picking up the win. The rest of the Jaguar pitching staff gave up just two hits over the last six innings of play.
Catcher Aaron Lystang led the Gauchos on offense, finishing 2-for-3 at the plate. Shortstop Darren Coombs picked up both runs-batted-in for Saddleback.
1/16/09: Gauchos picked sixth at OEC media day
The inaugural Orange Empire Conference media day came off without a hitch at Irvine Valley College on Friday morning as all the coaches from the conference had their chance to tell the local media a bit about their teams. Saddleback was picked to finish sixth in the conference that has won 12 of the past 18 state titles.
The Orange Empire Conference is nationally recognized as arguably the top community college baseball conference in the nation and keynote speakers Mike Gillespie (UC Irvine) and Brent Mayne (former major league catcher) echoed those sentiments on Friday.
“The Orange Empire Conference is the premier conference in the country,” Gillespie said.
Saddleback was picked to finish sixth, right behind inter-district rival Irvine Valley in a conference loaded with talent in 2009. Santa Ana picked up 10 first place votes and led the conference in overall votes with 107 out of a possible 112. Cypress captured the other four first place votes while Orange Coast was picked to finish third and Riverside fourth.
Saddleback assistant coach Sommer McCartney represented the Gauchos at the meeting and said last season’s 23-21 finish had them thinking about changes during the off-season.
 “We decided we really needed to raise the level of expectations from our players,” McCartney said. “We finished 23-21 and missed the playoffs to Riverside when we lost to Fullerton the final game of the season. Riverside ended up representing the conference in the state tournament as a fifth place team.”
McCartney said the Gauchos have high expectations for its pitching staff as Robert Ross and Zac Johnston will lead a talented group that also includes closer Chris Waldmann. McCartney also had high praise for first baseman Trevor Whyte, who is already committed to UC Santa Barbara for next season. In addition, McCarntney is enthused about a handful of players that transferred in from other colleges, including second baseman Sean Parvin from UC Irvine, outfielder Jeff Montenegro from Irvine Valley, outfielder Lars Liguori from Central Arizona and outfielder Chris Horrell from Cal State Fullerton.
The following is the results from the coaches/media poll taken at the event.
1. Santa Ana 107 (10)
2. Cypress 99 (4)
3. Orange Coast 79
4. Riverside 58
5. Irvine Valley 54
6. Saddleback 47
7. Golden West 40
8. Fullerton 22
Two Gauchos Sign Early Letters of Intent
Saddleback sophomores Trevor Whyte and Zac Johnston both signed early letters of intent in November. First baseman Whyte will remain a Gaucho in 2010 as he signed with the University of California, Santa Barbara. Johnston, a southpaw pitcher, will follow in the footsteps of a number of former Saddleback players when he joins head coach Tony Gwynn's pitching staff at San Diego State.
GAUCHOS WIN HITTING DUEL AGAINST ALUMNI
The Gauchos defeated the Alumni 24-16 in an 11-inning game on a beautiful Saturday afternoon at Doug Fritz field on the Saddleback College campus.
The Alumni team, comprised of five players still playing professional baseball, was more than a match for the current Gauchos, banging out 16 hits to go with their 16 runs. Mike LaRue ('98-'99) collected three hits, including a three-run home run. Clayton Carson ('04) and Jorge Araiza ('03-'04) also collected three hits. Pairing hits for the Alumni were Paul Wilson ('03-'04), Bryce Carrier ('04), Jeff LaRue ('00-'01), Montana Dye ('04-'05), and Will Craig ('03). Matt Kucera ('04-'05) and Geoff Fox each contributed one hit on the day.
The Gauchos banged out 25 hits against a rusty Alumni staff, but current Toronto Blue Jays 40-man roster member Reid Santos ('02-'03) pitched a perfect inning. Mike Mercado ('03-'04) pitched two shutout innings.
After the game, the Gaucho parents hosted the Alumni, family, and friends to a "big league buffet," serving close to 125 people.
Alumni are asked to contact Coach Hodges with their current information so that they can be included in emails/mailings in the future.
The Fall 2009 Alumni Game will be played on Saturday, October 10th. See the website under "Alumni" for more information.
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