After flying high against Morningside last Wednesday, Saddleback came back down to earth. The Saddleback Roadrunners fell victim to a rough 12-1 defeat at the hands of the Santa Ana Saints on Tuesday. The result was an unpleasant reminder to Saddleback of the 8-0 loss they experienced in the pair's previous head-to-head fixture back in April of 2023.
Saddleback saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Angel Arellano, who went 1-for-2 with a double. The team also got some help courtesy of Ital Ulloa, who got on base in all two of his plate appearances with two stolen bases.
On Santa Ana's side, Cristian Nieto made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he struck out seven batters over five innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. Nieto has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't pitched less than five innings in three consecutive pitching appearances. Nieto was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-2.
In other pitching news, Noah Iglesias looked comfortable as he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit (he also only allowed one walk). He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive pitching appearances.
Back at the plate, Victor De La Cruz and Anthony Lopez did most of the damage at the plate: De La Cruz scored a run while going 3-for-4, while Lopez scored two runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-5. Lopez is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now stolen at least one in the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Nehemiah Jatib, who scored a run while going 2-for-3.
Saddleback's defeat dropped their record down to 3-12. As for Santa Ana, the win got them back to even at 10-10-1.
While Saddleback had to take the loss, they won't have to wait long to give it another shot: the pair's next game is a rematch scheduled at 3:15 p.m. on Friday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
