Neither cold nor rain nor five days off could stop the hot bat of Aaron Bauman on Sunday as SBCC swept a baseball doubleheader at Saddleback in Mission Viejo. The Vaqueros overcame a 4-0 deficit to win the first game 6-4 and also rallied to take the nightcap 9-8.
Bauman, a sophomore outfielder, went 2-for-5 with three RBIs in the opener and 3-4 with two RBIs and a double in the nightcap. He has seven hits with nine RBIs in his last three games.
SBCC (6-1) has won its last four, outscoring the opposition 40-17. Saddleback fell to 4-3.
Greg Pellici picked up a save in each game.
“We played outstanding defense,” said coach Teddy Warrecker. “We left at 7:30 this morning and hadn’t been on the field since Wednesday. Our guys competed incredibly well. We were mentally prepared and we had some great at-bats with guys in scoring position.”
Trailing 4-0 in the sixth inning of the opener, the Vaqueros scored three times on an RBI single by Bauman and a two-run double by Steve Keller. They went ahead for good in the seventh, 5-4, on Bauman’s two-run single. Keller went 2-4 with two doubles and two RBIs.
Connor Whalen (2-0) tossed 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief to earn the victory.
SBCC was down 3-2 in the second game before erupting for five runs in the sixth. The rally started with no outs and nobody on base. Corey Krupp and Bauman each delivered two-run singles.
Krupp was 3-5 with two RBIs, two runs scored and three stolen bases. Joe McGrew (1-1), a 6-6 freshman from Santa Monica, got his first collegiate win.
With his team ahead 9-5 in the ninth, Pellici entered with two outs and the bases loaded. He gave up a three-run double and the Vaqueros ended the sweep in dramatic fashion by throwing out the batter at third. The relay went from right fielder Brad Marasco to Jeremy Baum to catcher Steve Keller to third baseman Andrew Leighty.
“Our defense was great,” said Warrecker, whose team has one error in its last three games. “I thought we’d be good on defense and we showed it today.”
The Vaqueros return home Tuesday to take on Pasadena at 2 p.m.
Game 1
SBCC ……………… 000 003 201 — 6 11 0
Sadleback ………. 120 100 000 — 4 13 0
WP–Whalen (2-0). Save–Pellici (1)
Game 2
SBCC ……………… 010 105 020 — 9 9 1
Saddleback ……. 100 020 203 — 8 10 5
WP–McGrew (1-1). Save–Pellici (2).
