Fullerton Hornet baseball came up short against their conference opponent Saddleback College on Wednesday, March 21 by a final score of 6-5.

Fullerton college is now tied for second place in the Orange Empire Conference with a 5-3 conference record.

Fullerton College sophomore starting pitcher Garret Molnar struggled in his outing as he allowed two earned runs and a total of five runs in five innings. His record is now 4-3.

On the contrary, Saddleback sophomore starting pitcher Bradley Spooner pitched eight innings, surrendering five runs on eight base hits to the Hornets and got the win.

Saddleback posted two runs in the first inning. Sophomore catcher Brett Auerbach singled to right field which led to an error by sophomore Thomas Delgadillo allowing the first run to come across home plate. A sacrifice fly from freshman first baseman Connor Glenn gave Saddleback the early 2-0 lead.

Fullerton countered with three runs in the bottom of the first. Delgadillo grounded out to second base which allowed freshman outfielder Monte Montenegro to come across home plate.

Sophomore second baseman Ryan Aguirre advanced to third on the play and later scored off sophomore outfielder Josh McIntyre’s RBI double to tie the game. Sophomore first baseman Jake Anderson gave the hornets a 3-2 lead with an RBI single.

The top of the sixth was a defensive collapse for the Hornets. Saddleback’s sophomore infielder Mike Jarvis reached on fielder’s choice scoring a run off a fielding error that was charged to freshman third baseman Jake Hall

Jarvis later scored off an error committed by catcher Jesse Hayes which gave Saddleback a 4-3 lead.

Saddleback carried a the lead into the seventh inning as Fullerton had not scored since the first inning. Saddleback added to their lead as scoring off Jake Hall’s third error to make it 5-3.

Saddleback made it a 6-3 lead after Fullerton balked a baserunner home in the eighth inning.

The Hornets started a rally with a pair of singles that chased Spooner out of the game in the bottom of the ninth.

The Gauchos’ sophomore closer Connor Sealey came in and successfully got the first out.

Anderson came in clutch with a 2-RBI single to make it a 6-5 game. Freshman outfielder Angel Lopez entered as a pinch runner but was caught trying to steal second base for the second out. Sealy regained his composure as he got freshman catcher Dylan Voelker to ground out to second base to end the game.

The Hornets did out hit the Gauchos 9-5 but it just wasn’t enough to cover up for the defensive miscues.

Anderson addressed the game as one where they got derailed towards the end because of the errors. Teammates Delgadillo and Aguirre expressed frustration about their performances and with the way the game went.

Anderson is poised to get back on the field to show how the Hornets really play as their season continues.