Orange County Community College Roundup : Rancho Santiago Wins Game, Then Coin Flip for Softball Title

Sandy Martinez had a two-run single in the second inning to lead Rancho Santiago College to a 3-1 victory over Citrus in an Orange Empire Conference softball game at Rancho Santiago.

Rancho Santiago (16-4, 29-10) finishes the regular conference season tied with Saddleback but was declared the conference champion after a coin flip. Both Saddleback and Rancho Santiago qualify for the Southern California Regionals May 16-17 at Palomar.

Saddleback 7, Riverside 0--Patti Taylor pitched a one-hitter and had 12 strikeouts to lead the Gauchos (16-4, 31-9) at home. Roberta Foster had a second-inning RBI single and an RBI double during a six-run sixth for Saddleback. Riverside commited four errors, three in the sixth.

Cypress 2, Citrus 0--Noel Parker pitched her fourth consecutive shutout and 10th of the season to lead the Chargers (11-9, 21-10) at Cypress. Sue Boxley had an RBI double in the second and Gina McGee had a RBI single in the fourth. Cypress won 8 of its last 10 conference games and 12 of its last 15 overall.

In Men’s Southern California Regional Tennis play at L.A. Pierce:

Unseeded Mike Brown and Mark Oryskevich of Saddleback upset second-seeded Chris Ganz and John Gabriel of Orange Coast, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, to advance to a semifinal today. They also qualify for the state tournament next weekend.

Saddleback’s Mike Boice and Grant Hein, the third-seeded doubles team, were upset by Kirt Edwards and Scott Del Mastro of Grossmont, 7-5, 6-7, 6-3.

In Orange Empire Conference baseball:

Orange Coast College can clinch the title with a victory over Riverside when the teams play today at noon at Orange Coast. OCC (15-4, 30-10) took a one-game lead Thursday when the Pirates defeated Citrus, 9-2, and Rancho Santiago was upset by Saddleback, 4-1.

OCC is expected to start Jim Foley (10-2), a sophomore right-hander, against Riverside (8-11, 17-21). Foley started Tuesday against Rancho Santiago but was knocked out in the fourth as the Dons won, 12-8.

If OCC loses and Rancho Santiago (14-5, 27-9) defeats Citrus (8-11, 22-18) at Rancho Santiago Saturday, the teams would be declared co-champions and have a one-game playoff Tuesday to decide the conference representative in the Southern California Regional playoffs.