South's No. 3 Baseball Aims to Defend State Championship

The road to Folsom Lake begins on Friday afternoon as the Riverside City College baseball team has earned the third seed following a second-place finish in the Orange Empire Conference (OEC) standings. The Tigers will host the No. 22 Grossmont College Griffins in a best of three series beginning on Friday, May 6 at 2 p.m.

Riverside finished the season with an overall record of 28-11 and 15-6 conference clip. They will look to reach the 3C2A State Championships for the second-consecutive season and defend their 2022 state title.

There will be a charge for admission due to CCCAA playoff policy. This is a cashless event and we accept all major credit card providers along with mobile phone pay. The charge for admission is $12 for general admission and $8 for students with a valid ID, children under 11 years old and senior citizens 60 years of age and older. Live stats will be available on www.rccathletics.com.

Both teams met in mid-February for what was scheduled to be a two-game series, but only played once due to the rain. The Tigers dominated the performance from start to finishing leading to an 8-3 victory. Six runs in the opening four frames aided the victory behind a 2-for-5 day from sophomore center fielder Casey Murray Jr. He bagged a double, triple and three RBI while sophomore right fielder Matthew Bardowell went 2-for-5 with a double, RBI and run scored.

Both teams met in the first round of the 2022 3C2A Southern Regionals last year. Riverside made easy work of the Griffins with a 12-9 game one victory, backed by a 9-5 game-two triumph.

Leading the charge offensively for the Tigers is Bardowell. The reigning 2022 State Player of the Year picked up right where he left off last season by hitting .371 leading to a .515 on base percentage and a .752 slugging percentage to lead his team. He has launched a team-high eight homeruns and is tied for second on the team with 31 RBI. He has clocked in 12 multi-hit games and eight multi-RBI games. /His strongest game of the season came in a victory over Irvine Valley where he went 2-for-3 with two homeruns and four RBI.

Murray Jr. has roamed center field all season for the Tigers and has been a staple in the heart of the order. While being slotted anywhere between the leadoff spot to the clean up position, the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo commit has posted a .351/.446/.571 line leading to a team-high 54 hits that features 18 doubles, five triples and two round-trippers. He has swiped 12 bags, driven in a team-high 33 RBI and scored a team-high 41 runs.

Freshman Bryce Cermenelli, who plays both second base and first base, has experiences a breakout season by hitting .345 with 40 hits and 24 runs scored. He launched his first-career homerun last week in a win over Saddleback at home. He has driven in 20 runs while punching in six doubles and two triples. Sophomore catcher Anthony Gibbons has been the team's sparkplug at the top of the order by hitting .377 and swiping a team-high 15 bags. He has connected for 28 hits after taking ownership of the starting catcher role at the beginning of conference play.

On the mound, the Tigers have leaned on a pair of arms that feature sophomores David Butler and Hayden Coon.

Coon, who has been the Tiger's opening series arm, currently owns a 6-3 record with a 4.67 ERA and 41 punchouts. He has tallied 61.2 innings and a 5.98 strikeout-per-nine ration. Butler, the 2022 OEC Pitcher of the Year, has a team-best 6-2 record with a 5.71 ERA. He leads the team with a 10.29 strikeout-per-nine inning ratio and boasts a team-high 71 strikeouts.  

Sophomore right hander Albert Roblez has been a staple in many arenas as he has acted as the top reliever and the team's third starter in certain situations. He is 2-1 on the season with two saves and 42 strikeouts. Freshman duo Dakota Grey and Matt Hudson share the team-high in saves with three each. They have combined for 49 strikeouts.