IRVINE, CA – The California Collegiate League 2025 regular season is ending with two games left for teams to play. And one of those games was between the Arroyo Seco Saints and the Orange County Riptide.  

With the season ending, the talk around the league was a wildcard matchup between the Saints and the Riptide. But a three-game series between the Riptide and the Conejo Oaks has a new narrative ahead.  

The Riptide won all three of those games and captured the first seed in the CCL South Division. So, in tonight’s game, Orange County were playing to stay in first-place position.  

The game was quiet in the first two innings, but once the top of the third hit, the scoring kicked in. 

It started with the Saints having the bases loaded, with Jackson Reed (Seattle) up to bat. Reed, however, was hit by pitch for the second time in his two at bats. Meaning, Jose Vasquez was able to get the first run of the game.  

But the very next batter in Lane Haworth (Texas San Antonio), hit a two run RBI double getting Noah Williams (Colorado State Pueblo) and Trotter Enright (Long Beach State) to score and give the Saints a 3-0 lead.  

“Bases were loaded, I just really wanted to get a run in,” Haworth said. “Just wanted to put a ball in the outfield, sac fly, anything, and turned out to be a good double.” 

In the bottom of the third inning though, the Riptide had a few answers themselves. With a Luke Johnson (Cornell) SAC fly, and Bradley Navarro (Utah)RBI single, to get the score back within a single run.  

The next two innings for the Saints were successful for their offense. With Jacob Freer (Azusa Pacific), Cody Turner (Lee), and Levi Maddela (portal) all batted an RBI single, to make the score 6-2 in favor of Arroyo Seco.  

A key factor for the Saints to obtain this lead was their starting pitcher, Nathan Huy (San Diego).  

“Just getting in the zone early was good, all different pitches, I think that really helped me out a lot,” Huy commented on his performance. “Get ahead early in the count, and just letting the defense worked.” 

Even though the Saints let up more hits than they would prefer, Huy still found ways to get the out for Arroyo Seco. 

“The game plan coming in was to attack the hitters early,” Huy said. “I think when it got late in the count, executing pitches where you want them, helps with strikeouts for sure.” 

In tonight’s game, Huy had six strikeouts, allowing seven hits and two runs, across five innings pitched. 

Before the night was finished, the Saints’ offense grabbed another RBI from Turner through a groundout to get Haworth across home plate. The Saints finished the game with seven runs, making the final score 7-2 with the Saints winning.  

“I think today was a complete game that we played,” Haworth commented. “We haven’t had a complete game pitching and hitting in a while, so it feels good to kind of get a win right now and hopefully we can bring it over tomorrow.” 

As for the playoffs, the Saints have to wait to see who their opponent will be. It comes down to the final game of the season, and it will either be the Oaks or the Riptide.  

Up next for the Saints, though, they will play their final game of the 2025 CCL Summer season and their final home game. It will be played against the MLB Academy Barons and be played at Jackie Robinson Field at 6:05 p.m.  

Contributors:

• Saints reporter: Nick Olquin (Ashland)
• Saints photographer: Bella Calagna (Trinity)