SAC baseball team rallies for key conference victory over Saddleback

Kyle Ashworth of Santa Ana College slides in safely for a run Tuesday. (Photo courtesy Santa Ana College sports information).

Sophomores Cedrick Perez and Chase Hennessey led the No. 2 ranked Santa Ana College baseball team to a critical 5-4 win over No. 4 Saddleback (19-8, 6-4) on Tuesday afternoon. 

The Dons (21-5-1, 6-4) went into the series trailing three teams by one game in the Orange Empire Conference standings. Following the win, they now find themselves locked into a four-way tie for second while trailing just Fullerton (19-10, 7-3) by just one game. 

Saddleback looked primed for a big offensive day as it scored in each of the first three innings. However, the damage was minimal as the Bobcats left four runners on base during that span.

In the third, Santa Ana responded at the plate as the lineup seemingly figured out the Bobcat starter during their second time around. Christian Thompson (Cypress High School) led off the inning and reached first on an error before Kyle Ashworth out of Foothill High School doubled to left field to give Perez a big opportunity. 

Perez wasted no time as he sent the first pitch over the right center field wall to tie the the game at 3-3 with his fourth home run of the season. 

The duo of Thompson and Ashworth got on base once again in the fourth inning to set up a red hot Perez, who delivered with a line drive over the shortstop’s head to bring home two more for his fifth RBI of the day.

Perez went 3 for 4 on the day at the plate to break out of a mini slump, bringing his batting average to .265 for the year.

Santa Ana got just what they needed from Hennessey (Marina High School) as he provided another quality start with seven strikeouts over six innings while allowing just four runs. With another win under his belt, he is now 4-0 with a 3.00 ERA for the season. 

The Dons will continue the series at Saddleback on Thursday at 2 p.m.

—Courtesy SAC Sports Information