Riverside City College pitcher Matt Hudson celebrating after completing the save at Lowden Field on May 5. Photo by Ayden Vasquez
By: Eric Pacheco
The Tigers offense exploded for 23 runs on 33 hits as they swept the Chaffey College Panthers over the weekend in the 3C2A SoCal Regional.
The Riverside City College baseball team entered the postseason as the 13 seed and headed on the road to Lowden Field at Chaffey College to battle the 12-seeded Panthers on May 3-4.
After a slugfest in game one that saw a combined 20 runs, the Tigers looked to keep up their offensive output.
They sent sophomore lefty Julian “Toro” Cazares to the mound in place of the usual game two-starter and first-team all-Orange Empire Conference pitcher freshman Ryan Jenkins.
“(Jenkins) had been dealing with a lower extremity injury these last couple of weeks that was really affecting him,” Tigers head coach Rudy Arguelles said. “We knew that going into this weekend and we were going to try everything that we possibly could to not use him, to give him an additional week to heal up.”
Toro would do his job keeping the Tigers in the game even after allowing two runs in the first inning. He would go on to work nearly six innings while allowing three runs and striking out five.
Cazares’ performance would be more than enough for the Tigers offense that tallied eight runs across the fifth to eighth inning.
“Stay committed to your plan, have a plan, and be able to adjust within an (at bat),” Arguelles said. “What a way to show up from an offensive standpoint,” he added.
Riverside City College third baseman Gage Gonzales celebrating towards the Tiger dugout after a hard-hit triple at Lowden Field on May 5. Photo by Ayden Vasquez.
A large part of the offense’s positive result came from the middle of the order and a quartet of freshmen, including shortstop Eddie Alfaro, catcher/designated hitter Richie Tejeda, right fielder Alex Gamez, and first baseman Arturo Rodriguez. They combined for 16 of the 23 runs scored in the series while also each recording four or more hits in the two games.
“We had nothing else to lose, no one counted on us to do much in this series, so we gave it all we had and had full confidence in ourselves,” Tejeda said. “Hitting for us is really contagious and we just have fun with it.”
Sophomore Matt Hudson would record his second save of the series after getting out of a bases-loaded jam in game one to earn his first. In game two he was lights out once again working more than three innings while striking out five and allowing no runs to score.
“I wanted to carry the momentum from yesterday’s game, stay calm, and compete even if I didn’t have my best stuff,” Hudson said. “I wanted to throw strikes and not let them hit it.”
Riverside City College pitcher Matt Hudson walking past his teammates to enter the Tiger dugout at Lowden Field on May 5. Photo by Ayden Vasquez.
The Tigers toughness was questioned by Arguelles after their lackluster end to the regular season.
“There’s a word called grit and we had it in the dugout … this weekend absolutely exemplified what that word truly means,” he said.
Arguelles expressed his pleasure in his team’s spirit and ability to never fold despite all Chaffey threw at them.
The Tigers aim to keep their energy high and stay hot as they prepare for the double elimination Super Regionals next weekend on May 9-11.
Riverside City College catcher Richard Tejeda celebrating as he crosses home plate at Lowden Field on May 5. Photo by Ayden Vasquez.
“We slacked on energy this whole year but were trying to create a theme, a flow, and execute on that,” Alfaro said.
Arguelles challenged his team once again as they prepare for next weekend.
“Can we continue the momentum,” Arguelles asked, “Can we continue the way we played into next weekend with our preparation and find a way to get through that three-team Super Regional?”
