Garrett Irvin’s Pitcher of the Year Highlights All-OEC Honors

Six Riverside City College baseball players were named to the Orange Empire Conference (OEC) All-Conference team on Monday afternoon following a season in which the Tigers placed second overall and earned their fifth-consecutive postseason berth. Highlighting the grip was sophomore ace Garrett Irvin as he was named the OEC pitcher of the Year. Sophomore pitcher Alexander Salazar, sophomore right fielder Ulises Caballero and freshman catcher Steve Ramirez were named to the first-team list, while freshman closer Lawrence Castaneda and sophomore shortstop Matthew Happ earned second team recognition.

Irvin, who was a Division II bounce back, found a home at RCC and immediately filled the role as the number one pitcher in the Tiger's rotation. In seven conference starts, the southpaw worked his way to a 5-1 record leading to a 2.81 ERA and a 9.94 strikeouts-per-game mark. He fanned a team-high 53 batters while issues just eight walks. In each start, he tossed at least six innings highlighted by an eighth inning, four hit contest in a victory over Cypress. He punched out a career-high 11 batters in the process. He tied for first in the conference in wins and ranked first in strikeouts.

Salazar hauls in his second-consecutive all-conference accolade after acting as the Tigers game-two starter. He earned an overall record of 4-2 and a 2.35 ERA. He punched out 47 batters thus shaping a 9.63 strikeouts-per-game clip. He displayed a power arm with crafty off speed pitches. In the final conference contest, he tossed 6.1 innings and fanned eight batters against Cypress.   

Caballero, a transfer from rival Orange Coast this year, made an immediate impact by being slotted third in the lineup through the entire campaign and provided power and drove in runs. He drove in 38 runs and blasted six homeruns in conference, ranking him tied for first in both categories.  He earned a batting average of .286 accompanied by a .571 slugging percentage and a .450 on-base percentage. HE barreled 21 hits with 11 of them going for extra bases. He capped conference play on a five-game hitting streak and drove in a season-high five RBI in a contest against Orange Coast.

Ramirez came on strong in the latter part of the campaign earning an all-conference bid in his first season. He worked towards carting a .317 batting average acting as the second-highest mark on the team. He squared up 19 hits with three of them leaving the yard. Furthermore, he drove in 22 runs which ranked tied for first on his team. In his final three games, the reliable backstop went 8-for-13 (.615) and drove in 11 RBI. He drove in six runs in a 13-10 win over Cypress in the first game of the three-game series. Furthermore, he boasted a .617 slugging percentage and a .427 on-base percentage. Behind the plate, he held a .989 field percentage and caught four runners stealing.

Castaneda proved to be a dominant force out of the bullpen and was slotted as the Tiger's closer. The former infielder turned pitcher recorded six conference saves supporting a 3.33 ERA in 27 innings pitched. He struck out 26 batters and struck out three or more batters in seven conference games.

Happ was the starting shortstop for the get go for Riverside and heated up at the plate when conference play came around. He worked towards earning a .307 batting average accompanied by a .416 on-base percentage. He barreled a team0hgih 23 conference base knocks, scored 13 runs and recorded 16 RBI. Furthermore, he recorded eight multi-hit games in conference play.

All statistics are based on conference play only. To view the entire list of all-conference honorees, please visit www.oecsports.com.