The Cats are in!
The Saddleback softball team is back in the playoffs for the first time in 10 years and will host Antelope Valley College starting on Friday. The Bobcats were named the No. 8 seed for the upcoming 3C2A Southern California Regional Tournament.
The Saddleback softball team is back in the playoffs for the first time in 10 years and will host Antelope Valley College starting on Friday. The Bobcats were named the No. 8 seed for the upcoming 3C2A Southern California Regional Tournament.
Saddleback finished the regular season 23-14 overall and 7-11 in Orange Empire Conference play. The Bobcats finished in fifth place in conference play but had the No. 8 Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) in the southern half of the state. As a result the Bobcats were one of eight programs to get a home field advantage and don't have to play in the opening (play-in) round of the playoffs on Tuesday.
Antelope Valley finished 27-9 overall and 8-4 in the Western States South Division. The Marauders finished third in the WSC-South and had the No. 10 RPI in the south but moved up to No. 9 in the seedings to abide by a rule that prevents teams from the same conference meeting each other in opening playoff matchups. Fullerton finished with the No. 9 RPI and swapped spots with Antelope Valley when the seedings came out on Saturday.
Saddleback and Antelope Valley have not met since the COVID-shortened season of 2020 when Saddleback defeated AVC 12-2 at the Mt. San Jacinto Tournament on February 16. Three weeks later the season was halted due to the pandemic and the two programs have never met since.
Saddleback and Antelope Valley have played nine common opponents this season in Fullerton, Riverside City, Palomar, Desert, Mt. San Jacinto, Cypress, Canyons, Citrus and Los Angeles Mission. The Bobcats went 10-8 versus the common opponents while the Marauders were 8-7.
Saddleback and Antelope Valley will open a three-game series on Friday. The game times have yet to be determined.