By Kevin Castaneda
By Kevin Castaneda
There is no shame in obtaining a second seed, especially if you came in first.
RCC men’s baseball team did just that when they beat out Santa Ana on May 5. The Tigers needed a win over the Dons to clinch the second seed for the Southern California Regional.
They did so in fashion, with a 9-2 mauling of the Dons.
“We knew what was at stake.
These guys capitalized on that, and came out with the victory,” said head coach Dennis Rogers.
The Tigers have now set themselves up for a course to either play Los Angeles Harbor or San Diego City. The winner of that match-up will face RCC in a first round regional game. If the Tigers come out with a win there, then they will play host to a 4-team super regional, which will happen May 12-14.
It’s no surprise that the Tigers have put themselves in this position. They have had the talent all year, and great play to get them where they are now.
Six of the teams players were named to the All Orange Empire Conference team.
The great play of pitcher Tommy Hanson and outfielder Thomas Neal, earned them the right to be named first team. Followed along with their teammates, relief pitcher Anthony Carrillo, infielder Jason Rodriguez, outfielder Chris Nelson, and DH Rene Escobar, who were all named to second team.
All these accomplishments have been warranted for a team that has demonstrated a high caliber of play. They finished the season with a 33-11 record. Also a 15-8 conference record. Then a 17-5 record at home, which is dominant in itself. All these records show the type of play they maintained for the whole season. A season packed with great plays, winnings streaks, and accomplishments, both team and individual.
The Tigers had plenty of winning streaks this season to always put them in a position to contend for 1st place in the OEC. Those honors went Cypress Community College. But it was a place that was never really far for the Tigers reach.
The team was able to always contend, and they never really gave ground to any team, in any game.
Now its time for the Tigers to show what they have for the playoffs. They have shown the whole conference that they are a team to be reckoned with.
They have the ability to go far and flex their power. They have the bats, pitching, and defense to win plenty of games, and go far into each round.
But after all is said and done, if these Tigers aren’t a huge success in the playoffs, it wont take from the huge season they were able to have. With many individual goals reached and surpassed, this team had a great season.
They could even reach back to the old Brooklyn Dodgers saying, “Hey, there’s always next year.”
