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By Kevin Castaneda
Tommy Hanson throws one of the pitches that earned him the conference pitcher of the year. (Christopher Dietrich)
By Kevin Castaneda
All good things must come to end. It was no different for the RCC men’s baseball team on May 20.
The Tigers won their second game of the Super Regional, which they hosted at the Evans Complex.
However, the victory was not enough to take them to the state championship because they lost their opening and closing games against Rio Hondo College.
The Tigers played Rio Hondo on May 19 at the Evans Complex. Both the Tigers and Roadrunners hurled their star pitchers at each other, Tommy Hanson for RCC and Bobby Lafromboise for Rio Hondo.
Hanson and Lafromboise were each the conference pitcher of the year for their respective conferences. But at times neither seemed to demonstrate that during the game.
Hanson gave up seven hits and struck out six batters while going five and two-thirds innings.
Lafromboise went eight innings and struck out eight, but walked three while allowing 11 hits. The game ended with a final score of 8-4, a victory for the Roadrunners.
“I had my stuff. Just couldn’t get these guys to get out,” Hanson said.
The performance he had won’t take away from his great season. It’s no small thing to be named conference pitcher of the year.
He may not have had his best game when they needed it, but many could argue that the Tigers may not have been in this position if it wasn’t for some of Hanson’s performances throughout the season.
Their second game wouldn’t be as sour when they faced L.A. Pierce in the losers bracket game. The winner would advance to play the loser of Long Beach and Rio Hondo.
The Tigers spent no time determining the team that would move on and play against either of those two teams. They came out firing with 14 hits and two home runs.
The Tigers routed L.A. Pierce 14-1. They also had a strong performance from pitcher Daniel Gutierrez, who pitched a one hitter, allowing one run and one walk with seven strike outs.
“I just had a lot of offensive help. My stuff was there, and I did what they needed me to do,” Gutierrez said.
The Tigers then moved on to play Rio Hondo again, who lost to Long Beach in the winners bracket game. But the Tigers did not take advantage of their second chance to try and move on to the state championship.
Rio Hondo only allowed the Tigers to score one run, as they scored four. RCC was eliminated from the regional.
“We had a good season. Of course we would have liked to move on. But that’s the way it goes. These guys played great, and I’m proud of them,” said coach Dennis Rogers when asked about the season and the last games.
The RCC men’s baseball team demonstrated throughout the season that they can play with the best of them.
They proved their hitting power through many of their games, while also flexing their pitching muscle to the rest of the league.
Though the final result was not one they wanted to end with, the Tigers played great baseball through a tough season.
