Bobcats earn top seed for playoffs
The Saddleback baseball team was named the top seed for the upcoming California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Regional Playoffs. The Bobcats were the champions of the Orange Empire Conference (OEC) and will play at home for the entirety of the playoffs after garnering the No. 1 seed.
Saddleback will find out its opening opponent on Tuesday after a pair of CCCAA Southern California Regional Play-in Games are played. Saddleback will take on the lowest remaining seed of the four teams playing, which features College of the Canyons (16) versus Cerro Coso (17) and Southwestern (15) versus Los Angeles Valley (18). The opening game on Friday is tentatively scheduled to start at 2:00 PM. Game two is tentatively scheduled for Saturday at 11:00 AM with a third game to be played 30 minutes after the completion of game two, if necessary.
PLAYOFF SCENARIOS: If Southwestern wins on Tuesday, Saddleback plays the winner of Canyons and Cerro Coso. If Los Angeles Valley wins on Tuesday, Saddleback plays Los Angeles Valley.
Saddleback was one of four teams from the Orange Empire Conference (OEC) to make the playoffs, with Riverside City getting the 3-seed, Santa Ana the 4-seed and Cypress the 11-seed. The Bobcats have gone 13-6 against teams that qualified for the CCCAA Southern California Regional Playoffs and 15-6 against teams that made the state playoffs.
Saddleback last earned the top seed in 2016 when they last captured the Orange Empire Conference title. However, it didn't work out so well as Saddleback was quickly eliminated when OEC rival Riverside City College came in and upset Saddleback after winning a play-in game. The Bobcats will look to erase those memories starting Friday, hosting either Canyons, Cerro Coso or Los Angeles Valley. Canyons is the 16-seed and finished tied for second with two others in the Western State South Division. Cerro Coso is the 17-seed and finished tied for second in the Inland Empire Conference. Los Angeles Valley is the 18-seed and tied with two other programs for second place in the Western State South Division. Saddleback cannot play Southwestern, who is the highest seed of the four teams playing on Tuesday.
TICKET PRICES for the playoffs are set by the CCCAA at $12.00 for an adult, and $8.00 for students, faculty, staff, seniors (60+), and children 12U
The last time Saddleback made it through the CCCAA Southern California Regional Playoffs to the state tournament was in 2004 when they defeated Cypress College for the state title. Saddleback finished in fourth place during the 2004 campaign and was the No. 13-seed for the Southern California Regional Playoffs, making a magical run after finishing just 11-10 in OEC play. The 2004 state title is the lone baseball title in Saddleback history.
NOTES: Saddleback has won 13 straight games entering the playoffs and hasn't lost a game since late March. The 13-game streak is the longest since the program had a 17-game streak in 2002.