Cats heading to Desert for three-team regional

The Saddleback baseball team earned the No. 9 seed for the upcoming 3C2A Southern California Regional Tournament and will travel to College of the Desert for a three-team, double-elimination tournament.  The Bobcats will open against Cerritos College on Friday.

Saddleback finished hot to end the regular season, winning eight of its final nine games to finish in third place in the Orange Empire Conference (OEC) and with the No. 8 Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) in the region.  The Bobcats were 24-16 overall and 14-7 in OEC play.

Saddleback will open the tournament with a game against Cerritos College.  The Falcons were seeded No. 17 after finishing 26-14 and in third place in the South Coast Conference (17-7).  Cerritos enters the tournament with the No. 13 RPI in the region.

College of the Desert (31-6) is the host school and won the Inland Empire Athletic Conference with a 21-3 record.  The Roadrunners were seeded No. 8 seed and have the No. 11 RPI entering the tournament.

Saddleback and Cerritos will open the tournament at 11:00 AM on Friday, with the loser of the opening game playing Desert later in the day. 

Saddleback, Desert and Cerritos have not played a game with either of the other two teams all season.  Saddleback last played Cerritos in the 2024 playoffs when they won 2-of-3 games en route to winning the state championship.  Saddleback last played Desert in the 2022 playoffs, defeating the Roadrunners 2-0 in a three-game series before falling in the regional finals to Palomar College.

Historically speaking, Cerritos has won nine state championships, with the last coming in 1989.  Saddleback has won two, with the most recent coming in 2024.  College of the Desert has never won a state title in baseball.

NOTES:  It is the fifth straight season Saddleback has qualified for the post-season.  It is the 26^th appearance in the playoffs for the program.