Riverside Tops Cerritos, 6-2, in Play-in Game; Visits Top-Seeded Palomar in Best-of-Three Series This Weekend

NORWALK -- Brody Weiss and Tommie Pincin each socked solo home runs early and Angel Delgado pitched seven solid innings as the visiting Riverside City College (RCC) Tigers baseball team, seeded No. 18 in the regionals, upset the host No. 15-seeded Cerritos College Falcons, 6-2, in a California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Southern California Regional Play-in game Tuesday (Apr. 29) at Kincaid Field.

Riverside City (22-15 overall) jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first when Weiss, a freshman SS from Denver, CO (Regis Jesuit HS), smacked a one-out, solo home run, his fourth round tripper of the season.

In the second inning, Pincin, a freshman catcher from Upland (Upland HS), gave RCC a 2-0 lead with solo circuit clout to lead off the frame for his first homer of the season. In the fourth, Pincin hit a bases-loaded single to chase home two Tigers for a 4-0 and highlight a four-run uprising which gave Riverside a 6-0 lead.

From there, Delgado, a sophomore starting RHP from Beaumont (Beaumont HS) kept the Falcons at arm's length as he scattered six hits, allowed one run (earned), walked two and struck out two through seven innings to improve to 4-3 overall. Sophomore RHP Tyler Rowe (Rancho Cucamonga / Los Osos HS) was summoned in relief of sophomore RHP David Robles (San Bernardino / Rialto HS) with two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth and -- on his first and only pitch -- induced a foul out to Pincin to end the game and notch his first save of the season.

Cerritos, the second-place team from the South Coast Conference, finished 22-15 overall.

In Tuesday's other South region play-in game, the No. 17-seeded (and OEC member) Irvine Valley College Lasers (21-16 overall) exploded for ten runs in the top of the eighth inning to turn around a 6-2 deficit into a 12-6 lead and went on to a 16-6 win at No. 16 seed Los Angeles Mission College (22-14). With the win, Irvine Valley will visit the Oxnard College Condors (26-9-1 overall) in a best-of-three series this weekend.

With the win, Riverside City advances to face the No. 1-seeded (and host) Palomar College Comets (30-6 overall) in a best-two-out-of-three series beginning Friday, May 1, at 2 p.m. Game two of the series would be played on Saturday, May 2, at 11 a.m. If a third game is necessary, it would be played 30 minutes after the conclusion of Saturday morning's game.

In terms of common opponents, Palomar split a pair of games with both Golden West and Orangte Coast. Palomar lost its only game versus Cypress, but defeated Fullerton twice in two meetings to finish 4-3 against OEC teams. Conversely, RCC was 0-3 against Orange Coast, 1-2 versus both Golden West and Cypress, and 2-1 against Fullerton for a 4-8 ledger.

In the all-time playoff history, RCC has won all three meetings (1998 Super Regional at L.A. Harbor: 21-1; 2000 Super Regional at RCC: 13-3 & 13-4). Both teams last played each other in 2007 when RCC won at home, 7-5 (Feb. 9). Friday's meeting will be the first playoff game between  the two clubs played at Palomar.

As an aside, for only the second time (since seeding was instituted for baseball in 1985; softball has had seeds since 1978) involving SoCal baseball and softball teams, Palomar has both its baseball and softball teams seeded No. 1. In 2006, Cypress had both of its teams seeded No. 1. In NorCal, Sacramento City College has had both its baseball and softball teams seeded No. 1 no less than seven times (1987, '88, '91, '93, '98, 2004, '07).

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