No. 18 Riverside Upsets No. 1 Saddleback to Advance to Super Regional; Visits No. 3 Golden West Next Friday

MISSION VIEJO -- Thanks to a five-run first inning and a pair of home runs by Brody Weiss, the Riverside City College (RCC) Tigers men's baseball team upset the No. 1-seeded Saddleback College Gauchos in a best-of-three series which concluded Saturday evening (May 7) as RCC won game three, 14-4.

Riverside City (24-16 overall) opened the series with a 5-3 win Friday night (May 6). RCC then saw the top-ranked Gauchos snap a 5-5 tie with a two-run home run in the top of the ninth inning to pull out a 7-5 win over the Tigers in game two of the series on Saturday (May 7) and force a deciding game three later that night.

In the deciding game three, RCC scored five runs in the top of the first inning, three in the second and one each in the third and fourth for a 10-1 lead en route to the 14-4 series-clinching win.

In the fortuitous first inning, sophomore LF Michael Darr (Corona / Santiago HS '14) delivered a RBI single to give RCC a 1-0 lead, chasing home sophomore DH Casey Sheehan (REdlands / Redlands East Valley HS '14) who had doubled ahead of Darr. Up stepped frosh 1B Ryan Mota (Fontana / Kaiser HS '14) who blasted a 1-0 pitch over the left-fence wall for a 3-0 RCC lead.

Later in the first, sophomore SS Weiss (Denver, CO / Regis Jesuit HS '13) reached first on a fielding error. A trio of walks and pair of wild pitches (one of which allowed Weiss to score) and a sacrifice fly accounted for the 5-0 lead.

In the second, Sheehan singled and Darr walked. One out later, Weiss socked a 1-1 pitch over the left-center field wall for an 8-0 RCC lead.

Ah, but there was more to come.

After Saddleback (30-9 overall) got on the scoreboard with a run in the second inning, sophomore 3B Anthony Ward (Fresno / Edison HS '14 / Reedley CC) singled through the left side of the infield, Sheehan was hit by a pitch and Darr rapped a RBI single for a 9-1 RCC lead.

In the fourth, Weiss smashed a 2-1 pitch over the left-center field wall again for a solo home run, his second of the game and fifth of the season for the first run of another three-run frame and a 10-1 lead.

Sheehan went four for four with a double and a hit batter, two runs scored and two RBI. Darr went three for four with two runs and two RBI. Weiss went two for six with two home runs, three runs scored and four RBI.

RCC sophomore starting RHP Sabino Ramirez (Cathedral City / Cathedral City HS '14) pitched 6.0 strong innings and allowed three runs (one earned) on seven hits and one walk with three strikeouts to improve to 5-5. A trip of RCC relievers allowed only two hits and one run (earned) over the final three innings to keep the Gauchos at bay.

In the three-game OEC series this season (Mar 5, 8, and 10), Saddleback edged RCC, 2-1, by the game scores of 3-5, 17-4, 8-1, with the middle game at Saddleback.

And with the series win, Riverside became the first No. 18 seed to upset a No. 1 seed in a California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA). (See accompanying chart below.)

Riverside City will now advance to a best-of-three Super Regional series against the (originally) No. 3-seeded (now No. 1) Golden West College (GWC) Rustlers which will begin on Friday, May 13, at 2 p.m. (probably). In the three-game OEC series this season (Apr. 5, 7, and 8), GWC swept RCC, 3-0, by the game scores of 3-1, 5-1, and 5-0, with the middle game at GWC.

Scheduled to be RCC's starting pitcher on Friday, May 13, is Daniel Agramont (Eastvale / Eleanor Roosevelt HS '15), with Delgado slated to start on Saturday, May 14. Game times this weekend are 2 p.m. on Friday, 12 p.m. on Saturday, and 12 p.m. on Sunday,May 15, if necessary.

"In these last four weeks, Agramont has shown that he can handle pitching in big game situations," said RCC interim head coach Rudy Arguelles. "And having Delgado pitch on Saturday gives him (Delgado) an extra day of rest."

Arguelles was named the Tigers' interim head coach when 26-year RCC head baseball coach Dennis Rogers requested and was given a leave of absence for the entire 2016 season to tend to a family medical situation. Arguelles is in his 17th season of service to the Tigers, the first 16 of which were spent as a RCC assistant coach.

(More details to follow.)

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In Saturday's first game (game two fo the series), Saddleback broke a 5-5 tie in the top of the ninth on a two-run home run by SS Luke Jarvis and stave off elimination with a 7-5 win. Jarvis went zero for five in Saturday's nightcap.three

Also in Saturday's first game, Darr went three for three with two RBI en route to a six for seven day.

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On Friday (May 6), Weiss went four for five and sophomore RF Garrison Cole (Palm Desert / Xavier Prep. '13) socked a three-run home run (in the third inning) for a 4-0 lead en orute to RCC's series-opening 5-3 win at Saddleback. Agramont went the first 6.0 innings and allowed three runs (one earned) on five hits and zero walks with two strikeouts to improve to 2-0. Ramirez pitched the final two innings to earn his first save.

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Last Tuesday (May 3), Delgado went the first 7.0 innings and allowed one run (earned) on three hits to improve to 7-3, and Agramont recorded the final out to pick up his first save in RCC's come-from-behind 3-2 "wild card" win over No. 15 (and host) Santa Barbara City College.

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Upsets of No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in a best-of-three series (1990-2000, 2005-2016).

Games scores are listed between teams with series winner's scores listed first.

Upsets of No. 1 regional seeds:
2000, NorCal: #15 Sequoias, 0-6, 3-2, 3-2, at #1 Sacramento City;
2005, SoCal: #16 Southwestern, 2-1, 2-0, at #1 Oxnard;
2010, NorCal: #15 San Jose City, 4-5, 8-5, 5-3, at #1 Canada;
2011, NorCal: #17 Sacramento City, 9-2, 6-5, at #1 Feather River;

2016, SoCal: #18 Riverside City, 5-3, 5-7, 14-4, at #1 Saddleback;

Upsets of No. 2 regional seeds:
1993, SoCal: #15 Long Beach City, 9-2, 9-8, at #2 Canyons;
1997, NorCal: #15 Merced, 7-14, 11-10, 17-5, at #2 American River;
1998, SoCal: #15 Cypress, 5-8, 8-0, 7-3, at #2 Cuesta;
2007, SoCal: #15 L.A. Harbor, 4-2, 11-10, at #2 Santa Barbara City;
2010, SoCal: #16 Cuesta, 4-5, 12-11, 20-7, at #2 San Diego City;
2011, NorCal: #15 Cosumnes River, 1-2, 8-4, 10-6, at #2 Diablo Valley;
2011, SoCal: #15 Southwestern, 8-5, 5-7, 8-6, at #2 Chaffey;

2013, SoCal: #16 El Camino-Compton, 2-0, 5-8, 7-1, at #2 Riverside City;

2015, SoCal: #17 Irvine Valley, 8-0, 1-0, at #2 Oxnard;

2016, SoCal: #17 Fullerton, 4-3 (12 inn.), 3-2, at #2 Glendale;

(Preceding research provided by John Czimbal, CCCSIA. All Rights Reserved.)

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