Weekly sports review

(Lariat Staff)

Men’s Basketball and Softball win big

Men’s Basketball

On Feb. 8, the Men’s Basketball team defeated the Irvine Valley College Lasers 69-51. The team was led by forward Shawn Stith, who put up 22 points in 27 minutes on the court; going 5-9 from the field, and 12-13 from the free throw line. The Gaucho’s dominated the Lasers on the defensive end, holding them to just 36.7 percent shooting throughout the game, and out rebounding them 39-25, grabbing 30 defensive rebounds.

The Men’s Basketball team improved to 7-1 in the Orange Empire Conference with the win; remaining in second place, a half game behind Fullerton in the standings. Their next game is Tuesday, Feb. 12 against third ranked Santiago Canyon at 6 p.m. They also play against Orange Coast College at home on Thursday, Feb. 14 at 5 p.m.

Women’s Basketball

Last week, the Saddleback College Women’s Basketball team went 0-2, losing 69-75 on Feb. 6 to the Copper Mountain Fighting Cacti and losing 73-75 on Feb. 8 to the Irvine Valley College Lasers. Against the Fighting Cacti, the Gauchos were outshot, making only 34.7 percent of their 72 field goal attempts, while the Fighting Cacti made 41.4 percent of their 70 field goal attempts. In addition to their poor shooting, the Gauchos were out rebounded by 7 by the Fighting Cacti, only grabbing 38.  

In the close loss to Irvine Valley College, the Women’s Basketball team was once again out shot, with the Gauchos making only 34.8 percent of their attempts, and the Lasers making 43.1 percent of their attempts. Despite the poor shooting from the Gauchos, the game remained close, with 16 lead changes throughout.

With the two losses last week, the Women’s Basketball team falls to 1-9 in conference play and maintain their position as last place in conference. They play Fullerton College at Fullerton at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday Feb. 12 and Orange Coast College at home at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 14.

Baseball

The Baseball team spurred a ninth inning rally, coming back from a 0-3 deficit against Cuesta College to win 5-3. The rally was punctuated by right fielder Chris Demgen’s two run homerun with two outs in the top of the ninth to give the Gauchos their only lead of the game. Ashton Goddard pitched 6 innings, giving up three home runs and striking out five. With the win, the Gaucho’s improve to 3-3 for the season.

Both games of the team’s double header against Cuesta College, Saturday and Sunday, were postponed due to rain, and are pending rescheduling. In the coming week, the team has three games, Tuesday, Feb. 12 against Southwestern College, Wednesday, Feb. 13 against Glendale College, and Friday, Feb. 15 at Palomar College.

Softball

The Softball team routed the Grossmont Griffins, beating them 15-7 in five innings, due to the mercy rule. The Griffins gave up 15 walks to the Gauchos, which the Gauchos took advantage of throughout the game to create their lead. Second baseman Vanessa Alvaran stood out as integral in the victory, going 3-3 at the plate and racking up three RBIs. McKenna Walton pitched all five innings, giving up six earned runs, and 12 hits in route to her third win, putting her at 3-1 for the season. The Gaucho’s improve to 3-1 on the season with their win over the Griffins.

The next games for the team come on Wednesday, Feb. 13 against Golden West at 3 p.m., and a double header against Allan Hancock College, and Desert College, at the Mt. San Jacinto College Tournament on a Saturday Feb. 16.

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