By Javier Cabrera / Editor in Chief
A complete game (Javier Cabrera / Editor in Chief )
By Javier Cabrera / Editor in Chief
The postseason arrived as the dominating Orange Empire Conference champions, Riverside City College fastpitch team, opened up its playoff series with Ventura City College May 7 with a 2-0 victory to take game one of a best of three series.
RCC pitcher, Nicole Zink, completed the game giving up four hits and striking out 10 batters in the win.
“I just want to win,” Zink said before the series started. “I just have to make sure my head is on and my focus is on when I am on the (mound).”
Riverside was on focus on offense as well as the team was able to make noise in the fifth inning and score a pair of runs to take game one.
The Tigers completed the sweep on Ventura the following day as RCC defeated Ventura 2-1 with another complete game by the Tigers’ other pitcher, Chelsea Ponce.
Before having full control of the game, Ponce hit a jam in the first inning after she walked a few batters and found herself with the bases loaded. Once she had found her groove on the mound, she was on the top of her game for the rest of the game.
“I was really nervous,” Ponce said. “I was over throwing and I came into the dugout and said ‘this is just another game’ and I just have to relax and take my time and I don’t have to be worried about anything else.”
Ponce had to work extra innings while the game stood 1-1 after seven innings.
Riverside found its spark in the ninth inning after the team got three straight singles by Patti Masner, Alyssa Rivera and Ingrid Williams. Shelby Vanderwall hit a pop-up to the outfield to bring home Masner to give the Tigers a 2-1 edge and the win.
Along with the 2-1 victory in game two, Coach Michelle Daddona was impress with the nine hits the team scrapped up.
“We were able to put up nine hits which was a good step forward for us considering where we have been at in the past and where we started at and where we ended up,” she said.
Daddona was also pleased with the performance of her team in the series against Ventura.
“They are doing a heck of a job,” she said. “With the staff we have we are going to be in the game–it just a matter of if we are going to manufacture and put runs across and the play the defense we are capable of playing.”
RCC will travel to Cypress College on May 13 through 15 to play in a regional final tournament with three other teams and the winner goes on to the state final tournament.
The other teams included in the regional final tournament are Cypress College, Santa Ana College and Antelope Valley College.
Daddona is looking forward to going to Cypress because the team plays well on their field and have lots of success there.
“I really feel it is in our favor–it’s just are we going to be running on all cylinders: pitching, defense and offense and I think if we are on then we are going to be able to get ourselves back to that state championship tournament,” she said.
