Riverside Returns to Regionals; Visits Cerritos Tuesday in Play-in Game

RIVERSIDE -- Receiving the final berth in the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Southern California Regional Playoffs, the Riverside City College (RCC) Tigers baseball team, seeded No. 18 in the regionals, will visit the No. 15-seeded Cerritos College Falcons (22-14 overall) on Tuesday, Apr. 29, at 2 p.m. at Kincaid Field.

Riverside (21-15 overall) finished in seventh place (9-12) in the eight-team Orange Empire Conference (OEC) standings. RCC and the six teams above it in the OEC standings all received regional playoff berths. Riverside last received a playoff berth in 2013 when it was a No. 2 seed.

In Tuesday's other South Regional play-in game, No. 16 seed Los Angeles Mission College (22-14) will host No. 17 seed (and OEC member) Irvine Valley College (20-16 overall). Tuesday's winners will be placed into the regional bracket.

The lowest remaining seed will face the host No. 1-seeded Palomar College Comets (30-6 overall) and the next lowest seed will face the host Oxnard College Condors (26-9-1 overall). The second round of the regionals will be a best-of-three playoff series beginning Friday, May 1, and continuing Saturday, May 2, with at least one game and, if necessary, another game.

In the Northern California Regionals, the San Joaquin Delta College (SJDC) Mustangs (33-3 overall) received the region's No. 1 seed.

For the curious, only four teams have won a state championship with three or fewer losses. In 1966, Cerritos ran the table en route to the state championship and a 40-0 record. In 1970, Cerritos won its first 28 games and took the state crown with a 40-1 overall mark.

In 1998, Sacramento City College won 35 games in a row and won the state title with a 44-2 record. In 1953, Sacramento City won the state championship with a 29-3 record.

Riverside won state championships in 2000 (39-12-1), 2001 (46-7), 2002 (45-8) and 2007 (37-18).

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