Weekly sports recap
Both men and women’s basketball finished their seasons with victories.
Men’s Basketball
The Feb. 20 game at Riverside City College ended with a Gaucho loss. The Riverside Tigers beat the Gauchos 75-85 during the semifinal game. Saddleback’s top scorers included forward Shawn Stith with 21 points and guard J.J. Overton with another 21 points. Although both teams had similar shot success percentages, especially in free throws, the Tigers beat the Gauchos in attempts thus securing them the win.
The Gauchos earned the Orange Empire Conference title with a win during the Feb. 22 final against the Fullerton College Bees. J.J. Overton and Shawn Sith led the team’s score board again with 18 and 17 points each. Fullerton College’s Lance Coleman II carried the Bees with 30 points. The game was close with an end score of 65-69 but Saddleback’s high free throw percentage gave them the extra push to secure the season end victory.
Women’s Basketball
Women’s basketball also lost to Riverside City College on Feb. 20 55-64. Forward Joice Beda scored 22 points and guard Kayla De Leon scored 17 against the Tigers. Although the Gauchos made every single free throw attempt, that was not enough to secure the win against Riverside who outscored the Gauchos in the third period 18-8.
The women’s final game of the season happened Feb. 22 against the Santa Ana College Dons. The Gauchos won strong against the Dons finishing with a score of 61-53. Unlike their previous game, the Gauchos led the beginning of the game and started strong so the Dons could not catch up. Joice Beda, who beat the record for most rebounds in a single game this season, scored 20 points in the final. The women’s basketball team placed sixth in the Orange Empire Conference.
Baseball
The baseball team lost against the El Camino Warriors on Feb. 20. The game was close, ending with a 2-1 score. Gaucho Riley Kasper scored the first run of the game but unfortunately that was the last for the Gauchos. The Warriors scored twice following Kasper’s run.
The following game on Feb. 22 against the Grossmont College Griffins resulted in a 1-0 win for the Gauchos. Chris Demgen scored the only run of the game thanks to an RBI from Casey Downs. The Gauchos achieved this win by locking down the Griffins and keeping their single run the only run for the entire game.
On Feb. 23 the Saddleback baseball team won their double header. Their first match against the Compton Tartars was a 12-7 win. Gauchos Dimitri Colacchio, Ryan Thibert, Riley Kasper, Reed Beverly and Dylan Smith each went home with two RBIs against the Tartars. Also, Saddleback’s Willie Lajoie and Alex Blaszyk each scored one point. Although the Tartars had a good third inning, scoring four runs, the Gauchos ran the show for the remainder of the game.
The second game on Feb. 23 was against the Southwestern College Jaguars. The Gauchos took home a 15-5 win due to Southwestern’s lack of action. The only runs their team scored were during the seventh and ninth innings. Saddleback’s Riley Kasper, Reed Beverly and Zack Bowman each made three runs against the Jaguars.
Men’s Golf
Gaucho golf placed third at the Royal Vista for Orange Empire Conference match on Feb. 20. All six Saddleback golfers got a score between 76 and 79 during the tournament. The first place school, Mt. San Antonio College, squeezed by the Gauchos by 14 points.
Softball
The Feb. 20 softball game against the Santiago Canyon College Hawks ended with a loss. The Gauchos lost 15-1. The one Gaucho run was completed by Jillian Gellatly in the second inning. This was the first run of the whole game, but sadly it was also the Gaucho’s last.
The Gaucho softball team played against the Cypress College Chargers on Feb. 22, losing 0-8. Cypress is currently sitting (6-1) and scored 7 out of their 8 runs during the second inning. The rest were locked down by the Gaucho softball team.