Huntington Beach, Calif. - Rustler Baseball (6-12) dropped their third game to Saddleback (14-4) 20-4 on Saturday, ending their second to last series of the regular season by getting swept.
Defensive mistakes have come to be the biggest challenge for this Golden West baseball team. The Rustler defense made four errors in Saturday's game, totaling 12 errors against Saddleback. The infield looked a little different this game, as first base was occupied by Dylan Kordic, second base by Zane Parmenter, third with Matthew Olivares, and Jonah Sebring at shortstop.
"Jonah played really, really well at shortstop today, and made me look pretty foolish for not having him there the whole season," Ramos said. "The way he played today could have helped us win some games that we have lost so far, but he will be there the rest of the way."
The Bobcats offense took advantage of starting pitcher Johnnie Valdez Jr. right away, putting four runs on the board in the first inning. They tacked on five more in the second, forcing Valdez Jr.'s days to get cut short. At the end of the day, this loss evens out his record to 4-2.
Connor Friere was the fourth Rustler arm out of the bullpen, but the first to put a scoreless inning on the board for Saddleback in the sixth inning. After allowing a base hit, Friere managed to get out of the inning with two fielder's choice plays and a strikeout.
Matt Gaunt came into the game to pitch what would be the eighth and ninth inning for the Rustlers. Over two innings, Gaunt allowed just two hits and struck out three batters.
While the Saddleback bats rallied 24 hits through nine innings, Golden West had 10. Catcher Adam Arroyo and outfielder Kelso Burke both hit doubles, earning extra base hits. Sebring, Arroyo, Parmenter, and Kordic all drove in a runner.
"[This season] has been disappointing from me all the way down," Ramos said. "We are talented, but we just haven't gone about our work in the right way, and myself included. I recruited the kids – I am the head coach – It's all a trickle down effect from me, so I have been doing a lot of self reflection for sure."
NEXT: The Rustlers will take on Irvine Valley College in their final series of the regular season. The series will commence at 2 p.m. on Tuesday at the OC Great Park Stadium.
Written By Marissa Lavezzari
