Posted: May 19, 2013
South No. 1 Riverside City College Staves Off Elimination With Pair of Wins on Saturday
RIVERSIDE – The Riverside City College (RCC) Tigers women's fastpitch softball team, ranked No. 1 in Southern California and No. 2 in the state, staved off elimination with a pair of victories on Saturday (May 18) to advance to Championship Sunday of the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Women's Softball Championships Tournament.
The tournament is being contested at the Dean and Adah Gay Softball Complex on the campus of Bakersfield College this weekend (May 17-19). Sunday's championship final against the Palomar College Comets (32-13) is scheduled for 12 p.m. If a second win is necessary, it would start at 2:30 p.m.
Riverside (44-5), after dropping a 4-3 decision to the North No. 2 seed Shasta College Knights last Friday (May 17), bounced back with a six-inning, 10-2 "mercy" win over the state's top-ranked College of San Mateo (CSM) Bulldogs (41-6) in game four of the tournament. The RCC win over CSM eliminated the Bulldogs and pitted the Tigers in a rematch with Shasta late Saturday evening. RCC won, 7-3, to eliminate the Knights and create an all-Southern California final on Sunday against Palomar.
Riverside is making its third appearance in the state tournament and is assured of its highest state finish, regardless of Sunday's outcome. The Tigers previously advanced to the state tournament in 2009 (finishing tied for seventh in an eight-team tournament at Salinas Sports Complex) and 2012 (finishing third in a four-team tournament at Bakersfield).
On the other hand, Palomar is no stranger to the state championship game as it will be making its tenth final game appearance in the program's history. The Comets won state titles in 1989, 1993 and 2000, but was state runners-up six times (1986, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1995, 2005).
Riverside has won its last two games and 36 of its last 40. Its first two losses during that stretch were at Santiago Canyon College (30-9), the third-place team in the Orange Empire Conference (OEC), on March 22 (1-0 loss) and April 17 (4-3 loss) in a pair of "walk-off" setbacks in the bottom of the seventh inning. The most recent two losses were in the postseason: a week ago Saturday (May 11) when it lost, 6-5, in eight innings against College of the Canyons – the Tigers' first loss at home all season – and last Friday.
On Saturday, RCC sophomore RHP Chelsea Ponce (Norwalk / San Bernardino – Cajon HS) went the distance in both victories and improved to 27-4 on the year.
Against San Mateo, RCC led, 1-0, in the top of the second inning and then parlayed a hit, two walks and four infield errors into four runs in the third for a 5-0 lead. Sophomore 3B Courtney Brown (Yucaipa / Yucaipa HS) had a RBI single for a 3-0 RCC lead. The Tigers then put the game away with a five-run uprising (on five hits) in the top of the sixth for a 10-0 lead. CSM had a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth to avoid the shut-out.
Against Shasta, Ponce had trouble getting strikes in the first inning as she walked five batters, including two with the bases loaded to stake the Knights to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first. Riverside supported her with three runs of its own in the bottom of the first and a 3-2 RCC lead. Sophomore 2B Gina Grijalva (Fontana – Summit HS) socked a two-run double to left-center field to get the Tigers on the board.
RCC upped its advantage to 4-2 in the second when sophomore SS Natalie Barrios (Corona / Centennial HS) socked a solo homerun (her state-leading 25th round tripper of the season).
After Shasta closed to within 4-3 with a run in the top of the third, RCC stretched its advantage to 6-3 in the bottom of the fifth when sophomore 1B Katherine Macias (Riverside – Arlington HS /Yavapai CC – Prescott, AZ) socked a 3-2 for her 19th circuit clout of the campaign. In the sixth, Macias' sacrifice fly (her third RBI of the game) plated Barrios for a 7-3 lead.
Despite her trials in the first inning, Ponce hung in there and allowed three runs (two earned) on just two hits in seven innings. She had eight walks, but struck out 12.