Riverside City College head baseball coach Rudy Arguelles sits in the visitors’ dugout at Evans Sports Complex, eyes fixed on the outfield wall adorned with the years of the program’s five state championships. A day away from the start of RCC’s California Community College Athletic Association playoff run May 2. The Tigers prepare to host Antelope Valley College in a first-round SoCal regional matchup. Aiming for a potential four-week run toward the program’s sixth state championship.
“It never freaking gets old,” Arguelles said. “I’m as competitive as hell, just as I was as a player to this day. I have the mentality that we will get it done.”
Arguelles channels his playing days and two decades of coaching experience to convey his competitive fire and inspire his club.
“It drives me to be able to guide and mentor these guys to connect and embrace what it really means to earn a championship,” Arguelles said. “Not just in the sport but in life.”
“Not everybody has the opportunity to be a champion in life or sport,” he added. “Once you achieve that status of being a champion, you’re always a champion, no one can take that away from you.”
Riverside amassed a 28-12 record – 15-6 in Orange Empire Conference play – to finish second in the OEC and earn the No. 6 seed in the 3C2A playoffs.
They have been guided by quality pitching and hitting throughout the season, posting a team batting average over .300 and a team ERA (earned run average) just south of 3.50.
“The expectations and demands on the pitching side are the same as when we started the season, they’re high,” Arguelles said. “They’ve upheld it.”
The starting rotation features three all-OEC first team selections: sophomore Erik Rodriguez, freshman Jorge Rodriguez, and OEC pitcher of the year, freshman Jake Valenzuela.
Erik Rodriguez will start on the hill in Game One, followed by Jorge in Game Two and Valenzuela in a potential Game Three. In his second season in Riverside, Erik has risen from a long relief bullpen role to the team’s bona fide ace.
“Its been a whole journey in trying to change my mind set in not trying to be perfect and trusting the work I put in,” Erik said.
On the season, he is 5-2 with a 2.08 ERA and three saves across 52 innings. He has pitched at least seven innings in four out of his five starts thus far. His success led to his recent commitment to Washington State University.
Despite anchoring the rotation, Rodriguez remains focused on staying grounded, not letting the pressure of being the ace of the star-studded staff disrupt his mindset.
“I just focus on doing me,” he said. “I love playing the game, and I love to perform and compete.”
Riverside will need more than their big four, which includes their three starters and reliever Evan Stratton, who earned second-team all-OEC honors, to step in during the postseason run.
“I have excitement inside of me because going through this every year I know there’s going to be a couple of guys that are going to show up and perform (on the mound) throughout this journey,” Arguelles said.
The bullpen depth will be critical as four of the Tigers’ six losses in conference play came by one run, with three of those being blown ninth inning leads.
“More than them (opponents) beating us, I felt we beat ourselves in those games,” Arguelles said.
Freshmen Austin Martin, Dylan Escobar, Julian Herrera and sophomore Jake Khasaempanth are among the expected high high-leverage arms.
“From pitch number one to everything in between and that last pitch of the game, everything is of the highest importance,” Arguelles said.
The Tigers also had three position players earn first-team OEC honors in catcher Ian Nguyen, shortstop Bubba Heidler and outfielder Parker Sobiesiak. Utility man Malakai Lopez and infielder Darin Osterloh also earned second-team honors.
Nguyen is one of the handful of returners from Riverside’s 2024 squad that lost in the super regionals and has arguably been the team’s best player throughout the season.
“We have to play every game as if it’s our last because now it could be,” Nguyen said. “If we lose, we’re done.”
The Cajon High product is the team’s leader in batting average and is second on the team in RBIs.
Nguyen carried a heavier load behind the dish than what the Tigers are used to seeing catching in 35 of the team’s 40 games.
“He was an iron man,” Arguelles said. “He showed the ability to handle it and go above and beyond.”
There was concern surrounding Nguyen’s ability for the playoffs after he missed the team’s final two games with a hamstring injury. Nguyen stated that he feels good in his process of returning and is slated to play in Game One.
“We’re here to win and take state,” Nguyen said.
