Saddleback’s McDermott Perfect in Long Relief Role

Ryan McDermott pitched seven innings of perfect relief as Saddleback rallied for a 14-5 victory over Golden West in an Orange Empire Conference baseball game Thursday at Saddleback.

McDermott, pitching in his fourth consecutive game, entered in the top of the third and struck out two, got 12 groundouts and seven flyouts. He is 2-1.

Tavares Comeaux had a three-run homer in the fourth to put Saddleback (9-3-1, 1-1) ahead, 10-5. He added a two-run homer in the sixth.

Dom Lombardi had four hits including a home run and scored five runs for Saddleback.

Charlie Tuggle, Mike Tyler and Riley Breckenridge had first-inning doubles as Golden West (6-7, 0-3) took a 4-0 lead.

In other conference games:

Rancho Santiago 14, Cypress 6--Brian LeFevers had four hits, including a double and a triple, and drove in four runs for host Rancho Santiago (13-2, 2-0). LeFevers, a sophomore outfielder from El Toro High, had a three-run triple in the third inning. The Dons scored seven runs in the inning to take an 8-2 lead.

Derek Baker had a home run, his seventh, for Rancho Santiago. Keith Ginter hit a homer for Cypress (14-5, 2-1).

Fullerton 6, Riverside 3--Andy Tellez hit a two-run homer, his fourth, in the first inning and Poncho Ruiz had a three-run double in the second for host Fullerton (13-2, 3-0). Ruiz is hitting .491 (27 for 55) and has driven in 31 runs and scored 22 in 15 games.

Three Fullerton pitchers combined to walk 14 but gave up only one hit. Riverside is 10-5-1, 0-3.

In Orange Empire Conference softball:

Cypress 7, Golden West 3--Lise Delligatta and Aimee Weathers had key hits to help Cypress (10-4, 2-0) build a 6-0 lead after two innings. Delligatta had a two-run triple in the first inning and Weathers had a two-run single in the second.

Riverside 3, Rancho Santiago 2--Melissa Cruz had an RBI single in the sixth to tie it, 2-2, for Rancho Santiago (5-8-1, 0-2). Riverside scored an unearned run in the top of the seventh to win.

In Orange Empire men’s tennis:

Orange Coast 6, Riverside 2--Roberto Intriago won at No. 1 singles, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5, for Orange Coast (5-2, 3-1). Intriago teamed with Steve Johnson to win in doubles, 6-1, 6-4. Johnson won his singles matches, 6-0, 6-3.

In Orange Empire Women’s tennis:

Fullerton 7, Irvine Valley 2--Fullerton’s Debbie Vonusa continued her unbeaten streak this season, defeating Suzan Yildez 7-6, 6-2 in singles. With the victory, Fullerton (4-0) takes over possession of first place in conference.

In doubles, Vonusa teamed with her sister Lynn to defeat Yildez and Sarah Curry 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, to remain undefeated.

Saddleback 8, Cypress 1--In singles, Saddleback’s Amber Howard defeated Maude Rios 6-1, 6-0. Partnered with Sandy Peters in doubles, they defeated Rios and Brenda Nguyen, 6-0, 6-2, improving Saddleback to 7-1, 3-1.