Versluis Leads Saddleback Past Cypress, 11-2

Pat Versluis went 6 2/3 innings, with four strikeouts and a walk, to help Saddleback to an 11-2 victory over Cypress in Orange Empire Conference baseball Tuesday.

Versluis recorded his sixth victory to lead the conference. Ryan Ruiz was three for five with four runs scored to lead the offensive attack against Cypress (17-6, 3-4). Saddleback is 18-1, 6-1.

In other conference games:

Orange Coast 9, Fullerton 4--Darren Chandler was four for five with three RBIs in a victory for Orange Coast (10-11, 3-4). Teammate John Lukin had four hits and two RBIs.

Chad Nickerson hit a double and home run for Orange Coast, which scored in every inning but the third.

Rancho Santiago 10, Golden West 5--Rick Gonzalez had two hits and four RBIs, including a three-run homer in the eighth, for Rancho Santiago (21-1, 7-0). Jeff Bowman (4-0) pitched six innings, striking out five. Heath Bell picked up his fourth save of the season for Rancho Santiago.

In Orange Empire Conference softball:

Cypress 7, Riverside 0--Jamie Wilkes (16-1) and Cara Painter combined on a one-hitter and Michele Bailon drove in three runs as the Chargers (30-2, 5-0) remained perfect in conference. Cypress plays at Fullerton (5-0 in conference) today.

In Orange Empire Conference women’s tennis:

Orange Coast 9, Cypress 0--Cami Erickson defeated Cypress’ Linh Cao, 6-0, 6-0. Whitney Gilliam also won for the Pirates, 6-1, 6-1.

Cypress fell to 0-9, 0-7. Orange Coast is 9-1, 5-1.

Saddleback 9, Irvine Valley 0--Gabi Rios defeated Irvine Valley’s Jill Riley, 7-5, 6-2, as Saddleback remained undefeated in conference matches. Noelle Saduddin also won for the Gauchos (7-3, 6-0), defeating Liz Shumaker, 6-1, 6-0.

Irvine Valley is 2-4 in conference.