Saddleback baseball is in the CIF-SS playoffs for the first time since before the seniors on the team were born.

The Roadrunners finished second in the six-team Orange League this season to qualify for the playoffs. The last time Saddleback made the CIF-SS playoffs was 19 years ago, in 2006.

From the 2007 season to last season, the Roadrunners won 49 games and lost 368. Their overall league record during that time was 14-225.

The Roadrunners take a 13-10-1 record into the playoffs that start next week. Saddleback finished second in the Orange League, behind Bolsa Grande, with an 8-4 league record. Last year’s Roadrunners went 3-17 overall and 1-11 in the Orange Coast League.

What’s behind the turnaround? Saddleback coach Joseph Najera said simplifying the game was key.

“We shifted from trying to be results-oriented to being process-oriented,” said Najera, in his fourth season coaching the Roadrunners. “Doing the same thing every day gets repetitive. But once the guys started seeing progress they started buying into it.”

Saddleback’s team batting average is .334. The Roadrunners are averaging six runs a game.

Senior outfielder Anthony Lopez leads the team in hits with 34 and in RBIs with 19. He is batting. 494.

Najera said Lopez is a standout defensive player, too.

Senior catcher Ricardo Marquez is batting .412 with 33 hits and 18 RBIs.

“Marquez is our heart-of-the-order guy,” Najera said. “He is always a threat at the plate.”

Senior shortstop Ruben Gutierrez is team captain. Senior pitcher/utility player Diego Enriquez is hitting .338 with 17 RBIs and on the mound is 4-1 with a 1.82 ERA and 61 strikeouts with only 12 walks in 73 innings.

Enriquez is a four-year player in the program and has enjoyed being part of its improvement.

“This all started at the end of last season,” said Enriquez, whose advance-placement classwork has his grade-point average at 4.50. “Through summer practice and fall ball we stayed motivated. We’ve become an all-around good team.”

Saddleback started the season 1-3. The Roadrunners have been better of late, winning four of their final regular-season games, all league games, to capture second place and a playoff berth.

Playoff brackets will be released Monday at 10 a.m. First-round playoff games are Thursday in Divisions 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9. First-round games are Friday in Divisions 2, 4, 6 and 8.

Saddleback will be on a playoff bracket page, probably Division 7, when the brackets come out. It’s been a long time since that happened.

“Our motto all season is to just try to win enough innings,” Najera said. “If you’re winning innings then you can start winning games.”

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