Runner-up RCC Posts Highest State Tournament Finish

RIVERSIDE – It's been said that one of the most difficult things to do is sports is to defeat the same team three times in the same season.

 

And the Riverside City College (RCC) Tigers women's fastpitch softball team, ranked and seeded No. 1 in Southern California and No. 2 in the state, found that out the hard way on Sunday (May 19) as the Palomar College Comets recorded a 7-2 win in the "if necessary" championship game of the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Women's Softball Championships Tournament

at the Dean and Adah Gay Softball Complex on the campus of Bakersfield College this weekend.

 

Palomar (33-14), which lost, 8-2, earlier in the day, was making its tenth appearance in the championship game and won its fourth state title. The Comets also won state titles in 1989, 1993 and 2000, but were state runners-up six times (1986, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1995, 2005). Palomar, the No. 2 seed from Southern California, became only the eighth non-No. 1 seed (in 36 years) to win a state title.

 

In the 20^th all-Southern California final, Riverside (45-6) was making its third appearance in the state tournament and was 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 affair at Bakersfield).

 

The Comets scored a pair of unearned runs in the first inning for a 2-0 lead and never looked back. Palomar added another pair in the second, one in the fourth, and two more in the fifth for a 7-0 lead. Seven RCC errors through the first six frames didn't help and all the runs were unearned.

 

On the flipside, Riverside – which brought a seasonal team batting average of .382 into the game –managed only six hits, four in the seventh inning. The 45 wins are a club record, shattering the 38-13 won-lost mark established by the 2003 Tigers.

 

RCC avoided a shut-out in the seventh when sophomore DP-1B Olivia Fimbres (Fontana / Summit HS / Colorado State U. – Pueblo) socked a two-run homerun to left field. The Tigers added singles by freshman LF Alexus Daniels (Riverside – John W. North HS) and freshman CF Desiree Broussard (Moreno Valley – Valley View HS), but sophomore 3B Courtney Brown (Yucaipa / Yucaipa HS) grounded out to second base to end the game, tournament, and season.

 

Sophomore SS Natalie Barrios (Corona / Centennial HS) singled in the first and walked in the third. She finished with a state-leading 25 homeruns this season. Sophomore starting RHP Chelsea Ponce (Norwalk / San Bernardino – Cajon HS) was the pitcher of record in both games, pitching a complete game in Sunday's opener. She pitched the first three innings of the nightcap and allowed five unearned runs and finished with a final won-lost record of 28-5.

 

 

 

The Tigers broke open a scoreless tie in the top of the fifth. Sophomore SS Natalie Barrios (Corona / Centennial HS) walked (the seventh free pass of nine she received in the first four games). After a sacrifice bunt, a fly out and an intentional walk to Macias, sophomore 2B Gina Grijalva (Fontana – Summit HS) socked a RBI single up the middle to put the Tigers on the board.

 

RCC added four scores in the sixth, two on a homerun by Fimbres. After Palomar cut the deficit to 5-2 on a two-run homerun, Riverside tallied three times in the seventh to put the game out of reach. Last month, RCC posted a non-conference 5-4 home win over Palomar (April 16).