Rashi, Casanova and Hamm Earn ABCA Honors

ABCA/Rawlings Pacific Division All-Region Teams

El Camino College pitchers Taylor Rashi and Cassius Hamm along with catcher Trevor Casanova were all selected to the 2017 American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings Pacific Association Division Southern California All-Region Team, it was announced Wednesday.

Rashi and Casanova earned the top honors in Southern California as the Warriors right-hander was named the ABCA/Rawlings Southern California Pitcher of the Year while ECC's backstop was named the ABCA/Rawlings Southern California Field Player of the Year. Both players also earned First Team All-Region nods while Hamm earned a Second Team selection.

Rashi had a banner year on the mound in his sophomore campaign as he led the state with 144 strikeouts and posted a 10.92 strikeouts-per-nine innings average. He led the Warriors with a 2.12 ERA and went 11-5 on the season, earning the South Coast Conference-South Division Pitcher of the Year award. Rashi also led the state with 118.2 innings pitched and allowed 7.96 hits per nine innings and just one home run on the season. Batters hit just .236 against him on the year.

Casanova was the 2017 SCC-South Most Valuable Player and continued to shine in the postseason, helping lead the Warriors to a third place finish at the CCCAA State Championships. On the season, Casanova finished with a .390 batting average, leading the team with 82 hits and 66 runs scored while playing and starting in all 51 games this year. Casanova also led the Warriors with eight home runs and seven triples while placing second with 14 doubles. Behind the dish, Casanova was also stellar in controlling the running game as he threw out 19 of 43 would-be base stealers, a 44.2 percent clip. In the postseason, Casanova was spectacular as he hit .455 in 11 games, going 20-for-44 with four doubles, one triple, one home run and 15 runs scored.

Hamm led the Warriors and the state with 13 wins on the mound during the 2017 campaign. He posted a 2.98 ERA in 108.2 innings pitched. He finished second in the state with 134 strikeouts and led ECC starting pitchers with a .216 opponents' batting average. He allowed just 7.29 hits per nine innings and led all starting pitchers in the state with an 11.10 strikeouts-per-nine innings average. He tossed a no-hitter against Bakersfield on Feb. 9, his second start of the year. He walked four batters on the day and struck out 16, the most by a Warriors pitcher this season and the first of six double-digit strikeout performances on the season.

2017 Southern California-ABCA/Rawlings All-Region Teams
Pacific Association Southern California All-Region First Team

So. California Position Player of the Year: Trevor Casanova, So., C, El Camino

So. California Pitcher of the Year: Taylor Rashi, So., El Camino