Delta College pitcher killed in San Francisco park
August 8, 2016
By Joe Goldeen, Record Staff Writer
SAN FRANCISCO — A member of the San Joaquin Delta College baseball team was shot to death Saturday night in a national park on the San Francisco waterfront, according to authorities.
Calvin Riley, 20, of San Mateo had just completed his first year on the Stockton college's team where he was one of the guys "everybody loved to be around," according to his coach, Reed Peters.
Riley was at Aquatic Park, part of the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, when an unknown gunman shot him in the chest between 9:30 and 10 p.m., according to Lynn Cullivan, the park's public information officer.
As of Sunday evening, no suspect had been arrested and no motive was known for the slaying, Cullivan said. Because of the location of the crime, the U.S. Park Police Department is leading the investigation in cooperation with San Francisco police.
"It is unusual for this to happen down there," Cullivan said, referring to such a major felony occurring in such a public, well-traveled place.
"Every five years or so we see something serious, but normally we're just dealing with car break-ins. This is generally a safe place," Cullivan said. He offered his condolences to the victim's loved ones.
Bay Area news reports cite Riley's cousin saying he was playing Pokemon GO! with a friend when he was shot.
Riley was the son of Sean Riley, an assistant baseball coach at Santa Clara University in 2013. He grew up in the Boston area before moving to San Mateo. He graduated from Junipero Serra High School in San Mateo.
The 6-foot, 190-pounder started his baseball career at Delta last season as an infielder before switching to pitching. He eventually became a relief pitcher. He made 16 appearances and ended the season with one win, one loss and three saves with a 3.91 earned run average.
Peters, Delta's head baseball coach, learned of Riley's death at 9:30 a.m. Sunday through a text message sent by one of Riley's teammates.
"He was a fun Irish kid and had that East Coast sense of humor that everybody loved to be around. He was loved by all of his teammates," Peters said.
"He had a great arm and great baseball instincts, being a coach's son. He knew the game real well. He was a bulldog on the mound, just a guy you wanted on the mound with the game on the line."
The "Cal Riley Funeral Fund" has been established on GoFundMe.com to help the family with expenses.
Record Sports Editor Bob Highfill contributed to this report.
— Contact reporter Joe Goldeen at (209) 546-8278 or jgoldeen@recordnet.com. Follow him atrecordnet.com/goldeenblog and on Twitter @JoeGoldeen