Riverside City College Tigers catcher, Richie Tejeda, 32, singles up the middle at the Riverside City College Evans Sports Complex on April 26.
By: Eric Pacheco
Riverside City College was one of the seven out of eight teams from the loaded Orange Empire Conference to claim a bid in the 3C2A playoffs finishing in fifth place overall.
The Tigers will compete for the opportunity to claim their second state championship in three years. They were named the 13th seed in the 2024 3C2A Baseball SoCal Regional and will be facing the 12th-seeded Chaffey College Panthers.
The team will need to forget its last conference series, which included back-to-back ugly losses to Cypress College which included five total errors.
Tigers head coach Rudy Arguelles expressed some disappointment.
“Not so much in the result but how it came about, how it unfolded,” Arguelles said about the 10-4 loss to Cypress in the regular season finale on April 26.
Riverside City College outfielder, Parker Sobiesiak, 4, walks off the field after the inning ends at the Riverside City College Evans Sports Complex on April 26.
Poor defense has been the team’s Achilles heel, especially down the stretch in conference play. Across the Tigers’ 11 losses in conference play, they committed 22 errors. In the 10 OEC games they won, they only committed eight.
Arguelles dove deep into the technical aspects as to why the team’s defense has been such a problem. He noted the lack of timing, anticipation, and angles.
“The lack of focus, not being on time, putting ourselves in a bad position, all comes into play … when you’re not making plays defensively,” Arguelles said.
The bottom line is if the Tigers want any chance of bringing a state championship back to the “Dirty Riv” they need to play better defensively.
Riverside City College shortstop, Eddie Alfaro, 7, fields his position at the Riverside City College Evans Sports Complex on April 26.
On the offensive side of the ball, which Arguelles noted is not the team’s strong suit, they will need to come through when it matters most and stay focused in timely situations.
“Lack of trust and understanding … the advantages of really staying disciplined within a plan offensively,” Arguelles said about the offense after the loss to Cypress.
If those same problems occur in the playoffs, it will be a quick exit for the Tigers just as it was last season when they were swept by Grossmont in the first round of the playoffs.
Toughness will be something Arguelles is looking for in his team as they embark on “season three,” which he calls the playoffs.
“I wish we were built more like the cowboy boots you got on … tough,” Arguelles expressed.
RCC will have to answer a tall order when they hit the road to Rancho Cucamonga and take on the Panthers who won the Inland Empire Athletic Conference with a 21-3 record (27-13 overall).
Chaffey has dominated at Panther Field this season posting an 18-3 record at home and the Tigers have struggled away from the Evans Sports Complex going 8-11.
RCC will look to get back to the philosophy that got them here.
“Manufacture some runs, pitching, and defense,” Arguelles said.
