It's Time: Softball Opens CCCAA State Championships against San Mateo

2018 CCCAA State Championship Tournament Page | Bracket

The road to a California Community College Softball State Championship has reached its final straightaway as El Camino College kicks off the CCCAA State Championships on Thursday against College of San Mateo.

Along with the Warriors and San Mateo, the teams will be joined at the 2018 CCCAA State Championships by Palomar, Mount San Antonio and Cypress from Southern California along with Sierra College, Ohlone and San Joaquin Delta from Northern California.

Everything kicks off Thursday at 11 a.m. with Ohlone against Mt. SAC and concludes at 7 p.m. with Cypress and Sierra.

The losers of Thursday's game will head to Citrus College on Friday for elimination games. It all culminates Sunday at Mt. SAC with the CCCAA State Championship series.

EVERYBODY'S GOT A PRICE

Tickets for the CCCAA State Championships at Mt. SAC and Citrus are as follows:

*All-Session 4-Day Pass: $40
*General Admission: $12
*Seniors (Age 60 & Up), Children 12 and Under and Students w/ ID: $8

*CASH ONLY! Available for purchase at the gate.

Sorry no pets (except service animals) or ice chests allowed inside stadium. No umbrellas or tents that block sightlines of other patrons.

Hand stamp required for same day reentry

2018 CCCAA State Championships HUB Page

All information regarding tickets, game schedule and campus maps can be found at the CCCAA State Championships Tournament Page by clicking here.

FOLLOW IT LIVE

All games at the 2018 CCCAA State Championships will be live streamed courtesy of SoCal College Sports and live stats will also be available. Links are available at the ECC Softball Schedule Page or on the CCCAA State Championships HUB Page.

In addition, we will be providing live updates via the ECC Softball twitter account; @_eccsoftball.

THE SCHEDULE

The full bracket for the 2018 CCCAA State Championships can be seen here.

Friday's game schedule will be as follows:

GAME ONE: #3N Ohlone vs. #2S Mt. SAC; 11 a.m.
GAME TWO: #4S El Camino vs. #1N San Mateo; 1:30 p.m.
GAME THREE: #4N Delta vs. #1S Palomar; 4:30 p.m.
GAME FOUR: #3S Cypress vs. #2N Sierra; 7 p.m.

THE FATEFUL EIGHT

This year, the CCCAA State Championships consists of eight teams for the first time in history. In prior years, only the top two teams from Northern and Southern California advanced to the CCCAA State Championships. The 2018 CCCAA Softball State Champion will play as few as four games or as many as seven games this weekend.

HOW THEY GOT HERE: ONE LAST TIME

THE SOUTH

• #4S EL CAMINO: The Warriors earned the No. 4 seed in Southern California after winning their second straight South Coast Conference, South Division championship. They faced the No. 13 seed Santa Ana in the CCCAA Regionals and dispatched of the Dons with a two-game sweep, winning 1-0 and 12-3 respectively. In the Super Regionals, the Warriors dropped game one to No. 5 Santiago Canyon but rallied for two wins on Saturday to clinch their first ever berth to the CCCAA State Championships.
• #3S CYPRESS: The defending CCCAA Softball State Champions earned the No. 3 seed in Southern California after taking home the Orange Empire Conference regular season title. They swept No. 14 Southwestern in the CCCAA Regionals and then followed that up with a dominant sweep over No. 6 Bakersfield, outscoring the Renegades 14-1 in the two games.
• #2S MOUNT SAN ANTONIO: The hosts of the 2018 CCCAA State Championships, the Mounties earned the No. 2 seed in Southern California, winning the South Coast Conference, North Division during the regular season. The Mounties swept past No. 15 Fullerton in the CCCAA Regionals and then defeated No. 8 College of the Canyons in two games, scoring a comeback victory in game one followed by a dominant 8-0 win in the series clincher.
• #1S PALOMAR: The Comets were the No. 1 overall seed in Southern California after going 34-3 during the regular season, cruising to a Pacific Coast Conference Championship. They faced conference runner up and No. 17 seed Imperial Valley in the CCCAA Regionals, dispatching of IVC in two games. In the CCCAA Super Regional, the Comets swept No. 10 Antelope Valley to punch their ticket to the CCCAA State Championships.

THE NORTH

• #1N SAN MATEO: The Warriors' first opponent at the CCCAA State Championships, the Bulldogs earned the No. 1 overall seed in Northern California with a 39-4 record and 14-1 mark in the Coast Conference, North Division. They swept No. 16 Solano in the CCCAA Regionals and then outslugged No. 15 Sacramento City in the CCCAA Super Regionals, sweeping Sacramento 9-7 and 16-5.
• #2N Sierra: The Wolverines were the No. 3 seed in Northern California and winners of the Big 8 Conference with a 21-3 conference mark. At 37-7 overall, the Wolverines entered the postseason and rolled past No. 14 West Valley in the first round. In the CCCAA Super Regionals, they hammered No. 13 College of the Sequoias 9-1 in game one and then held on to a 2-1 victory in game two to advance to the CCCAA State Championships.
• #3N Ohlone: The Renegades finished second in the Coast Conference, North Division behind San Mateo after going 9-3 in conference. They finished the season with a 34-12 overall record and earned the No. 5 seed in Northern California and needed three games to get past No. 12 Diablo Valley in the CCCAA Regionals. In the second round, the Renegades fell behind after dropping game one to No. 11 Reedley 3-0. On Saturday, the Renegades evened the series with a 7-0 win in game two and then scored a 5-3 win in game three to advance to this weekend.
• #4N San Joaquin Delta: The runners-up in the Big 8 Conference in 2018, the Mustangs finished with a 28-16 record and are the lowest seed at the CCCAA State Championships as the No. 7 seed from Northern California. The Mustangs beat Fresno City in a sweep in the CCCAA Regionals and then tangled with No. 8 San Jose City in the CCCAA Super Regionals. The Mustangs were shutout 1-0 in game one but bounced back with a 5-3 and 9-4 victories on Saturday to survive and advance.  

FAMILIAR FOES

The Warriors have faced every team from the Southern California section of the bracket in 2018. They went 0-2 against Palomar and Mt. SAC while splitting two games against Cypress with each team winning on the other's home field.

TALE OF THE TAPE: WARRIORS VS. BULLDOGS

The Warriors face the top seed from the North in game one and the Bulldogs come in with a high powered offense. They are ranked fifth in the state with a .384 team batting average while the Warriors are 23rd in that regard with a .334 mark. Both teams rank in the top-10 in runs scored with the Bulldogs sixth overall (339) while the Warriors are ranked eighth in the state (321). The Bulldogs are the top team in the state with 103 doubles and second in overall hits with 463. They also pose a challenge in the circle as their pitchers are second in the state with a .183 opponents' batting average so far this season.

The Warriors were an incredibly patient group at the dish, drawing 139 walks which ranked ninth in the state. They were also 11th in the state with 113 extra base hits and were once again the top team in California in stolen bases, leading the category by miles with 213 stolen bases on the year.

THE WARRIORS WAY

Here are some notes on the Warriors standouts during the 2018 postseason.

• Karla Calderon has led the Warriors offense through two rounds of the CCCAA Postseason. She is batting .500 (7-for-14) with five runs scored and three stolen bases. She is 3-for-3 so far this postseason with runners in scoring position.
• Ashley Machado is batting .429 (6-for-14) with four runs scored and has one triple in five games played. She is tied for third on the team with three RBI.
• As a team, the Warriors are batting .322 in the postseason with opponents hitting .286.
• The Warriors are currently 14-for-16 in stolen base attempts during the postseason. Opponents have attempted just three stolen bases against ECC in five games.
• Alena De La Torre is batting .333 in four games and leads the team with four RBI along with Helaina Gallardo, who is batting .600 (3-for-5) in limited action this postseason. De La Torre and Gallardo have been clutch for ECC with De La Torre going 3-for-4 with runners in scoring position while Gallardo is 2-for-3 with runners in scoring position.
• In the circle, Clarissa Chiquete and Maisie Weishoff have each posted a 2.19 ERA. Chiquete has been excellent so far this postseason, going 3-0 with one complete-game shutout. Opponents have hit .263 against her so far this postseason.