The Road to Fresno Begins for the Warriors at Moorpark College
TORRANCE, Calif. - The road to Fresno begins in Moorpark for the Warriors. The No. 6 Moorpark College Raiders will host the No.11 El Camino College Warriors in the first round of the California Community College Baseball State Championships Regionals.
*Tickets for this weekend's Baseball SoCal Regional Playoff games are: $12 General Admission; $8 for Seniors 60 and over, and children 12 and under.
The Game Schedule
Game 1-Friday May 4th (2:00 PM) at Moorpark College
Game 2-Saturday May 5th (11:00 AM) at Moorpark College
Game 3 (if necessary)-Saturday May 5th (3:00 PM) at Moorpark College
The Pitchers
Friday
ECC RHP Kenneth Haus (8-1, 2.59 ERA) at Moorpark, - LHP, Andrew Nardi (6-3, 2.61 ERA)
Saturday
ECC RHP Daniel Alvarez (6-3, 3.89 ERA) at Moorpark, - RHP, Grant Nechak (6-2, 2.57 ERA)
Saturday (if necessary)
ECC RHP Spencer Long (4-4, 2.68 ERA) at Moorpark, - LHP, John Cashman (3-1, 3.74 ERA)
Catch All the Action
You can follow the El Camino College Baseball team on twitter @elcobaseball for live game updates.
Getting to know the opponents
How the Western State Division Was Won
The Raiders won the Western State, North Division title with a 25-15 overall record and 13-7 mark, two games better than Santa Barbara. This was their first conference title since 2012. The Raiders finished the season with an 8-5 record in April and won their last five games in a row. They went 3-1 against their division rival Santa Barbara Community College. Head Coach Mario Porto was named Coach of the year in the Western State North Division.
Stop The Raiders
Collectively the offense batted .257 as a whole for the Raiders slugged 11 home runs, drove in 193 runs, and scored 229 runs. The expected 3-4-5 batters in the lineup all have batting averages above the .300 mark.
-1B James Terrazas leads the Raiders with a .336 batting average. He has slugged two home runs and drove in 23 runs for the season. Terrazas was named to the All-WSC First Team.
-LF Paul Amate was second with a .331 batting average. He led the team in hits with 50 and has drove in 24 runs for the season. He also leads the team in stolen bases with 18. Amate was named to the All-WSC second team.
-SS Dominic Ruggiero was third with a .326 batting average. He is second on the team with 46 hits and two home runs and has driven in 22 runs. Ruggiero was named to the All-WSC second team.
-2B Mason Harvey is just south of .300 with a .294 batting average. He had 42 hits on the season and scored 20 runs. Harvey was named to the All-WSC second team.
The Pitching Staff/Probable Starters
Andrew Nardi and Grant Nechak are the two aces for the Raiders. Nardi and Nechak were named the Co-Pitchers of the Year for the WSC Conference. With John Cashman as the third starter if necessary. Moorpark ranks 14th in the state with a staff team ERA of 3.55
-Nardi will most likely be handed the ball for Game One on Friday, May 4th. Nardi has started 11 games and has a 6-3 record with a 2.61 ERA in 72.1 innings pitched. Nardi has struck 82 batters and walked 24 batters on the year. He has thrown two complete games and pitched one shutout on the season. He last pitched on April 24th, going the distance and allowing two hits, zero runs, walking one, and striking out seven.
-Nechak is most likely the Game Two starter for the Raiders. Nechak has started 11 games and has a 6-2 record with a 2.57 ERA in 77 innings pitched. Nechak has punched out 65 batters and walked 21 batters on the year. He has thrown one complete game on the season. His last appearance came on April 19th against Santa Barbara where Nechak went 7.2 innings pitched, allowing 10 hits, zero runs, and striking out three batters.
-Cashman is the probable third starter for the Raiders. Cashman has became the third starter for the Raiders in recent weeks. He has started five games and has a 3-1 record with a 3.74 ERA in 53.0 innings pitched. Cashman has struck out 43 batters and walked only 10 batters on the season. He last threw on April 21st vs Santa Barbara and threw a nine inning complete game. He gave up seven hits, two runs, and struck out 7 batters. Cashman was named to the All-WSC First Team.
For El Camino College
How They Got There
The Warriors were ranked No.2 in Southern California by the CCCBCAA to start the season after their final four finish last year. However, the Warriors were hovering around the .500 mark to begin the season before posting winning records in March (9-5) and April (7-4). The Warriors came in second place in the SCC-South Division with a 13-9 record finishing one game behind rival Cerritos College with a 14-8 record.
The Warriors rank 24th in the state with a .298 team batting average. The Warriors are tied for 8th in the state with 33 home runs. The Warriors are 7th in the state with 283 runs driven in. The Warriors are 11th in the state with 311 runs scored. The Warriors are 11th in the state with 438 hits. The Warriors have scored 10 or more runs in over 15 games this season. The top seven hitters all have batting averages of .287 or higher.
Keys to the Game: Score More Runs Than the Other Team
-Freshman 1B Spencer Palmer leads the Warriors with a .426 batting average (7th highest in the state). Palmer leads the team with 63 hits, 8 home runs, 36 RBIs, and 43 runs scored. Palmer was named to the All-SCC South First Team.
-Sophomore RF Cody Wissler is second with a .373 batting average. Wissler has 60 hits, 2 home runs, 36 RBIs, and 27 runs scored. Wissler was named to the All-SCC South First Team.
-Freshman CF Joseph Borges is third with a .333 batting average. After dealing with an injury and missing a month of the season, Borges has been a huge addition to the offense. Borges has 39 hits, one home run, 28 RBIs, and 26 runs scored. Borges was named to the All-SCC South Second team.
-Sophomore 2B Diego Alacorn is fourth with a .314 batting average. Alarcon has 55 hits, four home runs, 29 RBIs, and 42 runs scored.
-Sophomore C Jose Ruiz Jr is fifth with a .307 batting average. Ruiz Jr. has 47 hits, four home runs, 36 RBIs, and 43 runs scored. Ruiz Jr. was named to the All-SCC South First Team.
-Freshman 3B Matthew Beserra is sixth with a .288 batting average. Beserra has 44 hits, four home runs, 36 RBIs, and 34 runs scored.
-Sophomore DH Jordan Folgers is seventh with a .287 batting average. Folgers has 49 hits, seven home runs, 28 RBIs, and 39 runs scored.
Pitching Staff/Probable Starters
Game 1 - Kenneth Haus. The sophomore has been the staff ace for the Warriors this season. He has started 13 games and has an 8-1 record with a 2.59 ERA in 87 innings pitched. Haus has struck 84 batters and allowed 40 walks on the year. His last start came against Compton on April 24th where he went 8.0 innings pitched and gave up zero runs, and struck out nine batters compared to two walks. Haus was named to the All-SCC South First team.
Game 2-Daniel Alvarez. The sophomore will most likely be handed the ball in Game Two. Alvarez has started 12 games this season and has a 6-3 record with a 3.89 ERA in 78.2 innings pitched. Alvarez has struck 58 batters and allowed just 21 walks on the season. His last start came against Compton on April 26th where he went 7.0 innings pitched and gave up one run off six hits, one walk, and six strikeouts.
Game 3 if necessary-Spencer Long. The two-way freshman will be handed the ball in Game Three if necessary. Long has a 4-4 record with a 2.68 ERA in 47 innings pitched. He has struck 40 batters and allowed just 18 walks on the season. Long's last start came against Compton on April 27th where he went 7.0 innings pitched, giving up just two hits, zero runs, two walks, and striking out eight batters. Long was named to the All-SCC South First Team.