Riverside City Stays Alive; Eliminates Santiago Canyon, 7-5, in Super Regional Game Five

RIVERSIDE – The Riverside City College (RCC) Tigers women's fastpitch softball team, ranked No. 1 in Southern California and No. 2 in the state, outlasted the No. 5-seeded Santiago Canyon College (SCC) Hawks, 7-5, in an elimination game (game #5) of the Southern California Regional Playoffs Super Regional (site A) tournament Saturday evening (May 11) at Brown Field (Evans Sports Complex).

 

Riverside (club-record 40 wins, 40-4 overall) will face the No. 4-seeded College of the Canyons (COC) Cougars (34-9-2) in the championship round on Sunday, May 12, at 12 p.m. If a second game is necessary, it would start approximately 30 minutes later. The 2003 RCC club went 38-13.

 

The Tigers led, 2-0, after one inning before SCC came up with three runs in the top of the fourth to take a 3-2 lead. SCC sophomore CF Morgan McGee (Garden Grove / Mater Dei HS) hit the big blow, a bases-loaded double which drove in two runs.

 

Riverside responded in the bottom of the fourth when a pair of infield errors sandwiched around a walk set the stage for sophomore 3B Courtney Brown (Yucaipa / Yucaipa HS) who crushed the first pitch she saw for a grand slam homerun, her ninth round tripper of the season. All of the runs were unearned.

 

The Hawks (33-11) countered with solo homeruns from Brinnon (in the fifth) and sophomore 1B Hannah Romanski (Corona / Roosevelt HS) in the sixth. In between, RCC sophomore 1B Olivia Fimbres (Fontana / Summit HS / Colorado State U. – Pueblo) smashed the first she saw in the bottom of the fifth inning for her fourth circuit clout of the campaign for an insurance run at a then- 7-4 lead.

 

RCC starting sophomore RHP Katherine Macias (Riverside – Arlington HS /Yavapai CC – Prescott, AZ) went the first five innings and allowed all five runs (all earned) on nine hits and two walks. She threw 80 pitches (50 strikes) to get credit for the win and improve to 15-0. Ponce pitched the last two innings to notch her third save of the season. SCC sophomore starting RHP Terry-Lee Rahe (Laguna Hills / Laguna Hills HS) went the first 4-2/3 innings and allowed all seven runs (three earned) on eight hits and five walks to draw the loss (12-4).

 

 

In Saturday's first elimination game, Santiago Canyon hung on to edge the Citrus College Owls, 4-3, in eight innings Saturday night. SCC erupted for three unearned runs in the top of the eighth before Citrus closed to within, 4-3, before leaving the potential tying and winning runs on base when the game ended on a foul fly out.

 

SCC sophomore SS Faith Brinnon (Yorba Linda / El Dorado HS) had three hits to lead the Hawks, and Citrus freshman LF Raeleen Tellez (La Puente / Charter Oak HS) had three hits to pace the Owls (26-14).

 

Rahe went the distance and allowed just two earned runs on eight hits and two walks to improve to 12-3. Citrus freshman RHP Arianna Sanchez (West Covina / West Covina HS) also went the distance and allowed just one earned run on eight hits, but walked five and saw her record fall to 16-9.

 

 

The No. 4-seeded College of the Canyons Cougars (34-9) outlasted the top-ranked Tigers, 6-5, Saturday afternoon to advance as the lone undefeated squad in the four-team, double-elimination tournament.

 

Sophomore SS Natalie Barrios (Corona / Centennial HS) socked a solo homerun (her state-leading 23^rd of the season) in the sixth inning to tie the game at 5-5, before Canyons scored in the top of the eighth. COC sophomore SS Melissa Reynosa (Grant HS) walked and scored the winning run on a wild pitch.

 

RCC sophomore RHP Chelsea Ponce (Norwalk / San Bernardino – Cajon HS) went the distance for RCC and drew the loss (23-3). COC sophomore RHP Kimmie Lockhart (Saugus HS) went the distance for Canyons to improve to 25-5.