Santiago Canyon College Wins First-Ever OEC Title, Leads Five OEC Teams into Playoffs
The Santiago Canyon College Hawks won their first-ever Orange Empire Conference Championship in just their eighth season as a program.
In just its eighth season as a program, the Santiago Canyon College softball team won the Orange Empire Conference Championship. The Hawks edged out district rival Santa Ana College and Riverside City College by just one game.
The Hawks claimed the title in the second-to-last game of the season when they defeated Orange Coast College, avoiding any end-of-the-season drama when they hosted Santa Ana. The Dons, however, claimed their only victory over the Hawks with a 4-2 score in the season finale, securing a second-place tie with Riverside City.
Both Santa Ana and Riverside finished with 16-5 marks in conference, placing them well ahead of fourth place Cypress College that finished with a 12-9 mark in the OEC. Rounding out the top-five was Saddleback College with an 11-10 mark.
All five of those teams will represent the OEC in the upcoming CCCAA Softball Southern Regional Playoffs with Cypress College receiving the highest seeding as the #2 team. The Chargers will host #15 Grossmont College in the first round.
Next up for the OEC were the champion Hawks who received the #4 seed and will host #13 Cuesta College. Santa Ana, the second-best team in the state's RPI standings, received the #5 seed and will host #12 Allan Hancock College.
Riverside City is the #7 seed and will host #10 Cerritos College while Saddleback enters the playoffs as the #9 seed and will travel to #8 East Los Angeles College.