Baseball Hosts Glendale For CCCAA Southern California Sectional Finals

The El Camino College baseball team continues its quest back to Fresno for the CCCAA State Championship when it hosts No. 4 Glendale College in the sectional round of the California Community College Baseball State Championships Sectionals on Friday afternoon at 2 p.m. at Warrior Field

THE DETAILS

No. 2 El Camino College (36-7) vs. No. 4 Glendale College  (30-15)

The Game Schedule

Game 1-Friday May 17th (2:00 PM) at Warrior Field

Game 2-Saturday May 18th (1:00 PM) at Warrior Field

Game 3 (if necessary)-Sunday May 19th (12:00 PM) at Warrior Field

Venue: Warrior Field.  The venue is located on the Manhattan Beach Blvd. side of the El Camino College campus. Visitors may park in Parking Lot F adjacent to the field and in Lot C. Permits can be purchased for $3 at parking permit machines located throughout the campus parking lots. The machines accept CASH ONLY.

Admission: $12 General; $8 Students with valid ID, Seniors over 60, and Children under 12 CASH ONLY.

PLEASE NOTE: YOU WILL BE CHARGED ADMISSION FOR WATCHING ON THE PARKING STRUCTURE.  ABSOLUTELY NO EXCEPTIONS.

FOLLOW THE ACTION

Live stats and live video will be available for all the games against the Lancers. The video is $7.95 or free to those fans who bought the season pass. Links can be found below and on the ECCWarriors.com schedule page.

Live Stats: https://bit.ly/30pvhAY (Game 1) https://bit.ly/2LMShGD (Game 2) https://bit.ly/2Q8f2TU(Game 3)

Live Video: http://bit.ly/2r8U1ee

Getting to know the opponents

HOW THEY GOT HERE

Glendale Community College (30-15) won the Western State Conference East Division title outright. They finished two games above Citrus College to win their seventh title in the last nine seasons.  The Vaqueros drew the No.4 seed and hosted the No. 13 Santa Barbara City College College in the first round of the playoffs. The Vaqueros lost the first game 10-4, but came back the next to day win Game 2 and Game 3, 16-2 and 4-3 to win the series.  The Vaqueros next hosted No.7 San Diego Mesa in the super regional round. They swept past the Olympians in two games, 8-7 and 12-3.

Series History vs Glendale

El Camino and Glendale did not face each other this season.  The Vaqueros were 7-2 vs South Coast Conference competition this season.  The Warriors were 10-1 vs Western State Conference competition this season.  

Glendale Notes

Glendale leads the state with a .327 batting average and is first in the state with 560 hits.  They are third in the state with 429 runs scored. They lead the state with 64 home runs and extra base hits with 186. They are fifth in the state with 100 stolen bases.

The Vaqueros have seven batters with a batting average above the .300 mark.  Trent MacKinney leads the state with a .447 batting average. He has 63 hits, 47 runs scored and 30 RBIs. Michael Choi is batting .380 with 46 hits.  Hans Seo is batting .380 with 49 hits and 10 home runs.Hayden Luff is batting .349, Casey Slattery is batting .335 with 54 hits and 8 home runs. Christian Muro is batting .321 with 52 hits.  Tom Tabak is batting .318 with 50 hits. Brandon Lewis is batting .300 with 39 hits and 11 home runs. Dexter Wilkerson leads the pitching staff with a 11-2 record and a 3.10 ERA in 66.2 innings pitched.  However he has only made five starts and usually pitches with an opener. Gerardo Ramirez leads the team with 13 starts and is second with 63 innings pitched.. He has a 4-4 record with a 6.14 ERA. Kyle Nicol has made 8 starts and has a 4.23 ERA in 38.1 innings pitched.

For El Camino College

The Warriors were given the No.2 seed in Southern California.  They have consistently ranked within the Top 7 teams in the state throughout the season and hovered around the No.3 team in Southern California behind Orange Coast College and Riverside.  The final CCCSIA Poll (April 30th) ranked the Warriors as the No. 4 team in the State and No. 2 team in Southern California. The Warriors are back in the sectional round for the third season in a row.  They defeated Orange Coast College in three games in 2017, got swept by Orange Coast in 2018, and are hosting for the first time in 2019.

How They Got Here

The Warriors finished the regular season with a 32-6 overall record.  They went 17-5 in conference play. The Warriors posted a 15-2 record at home.  The Warriors won a share of the South Coast Conference-South Division title, splitting the division title with Long Beach City College. They swept past Pasadena City College in the opening round of the CCCAA Baseball Southern California Regionals with a 6-0 and 5-1 wins.  They beat Cypress College in three games in the CCCAA Baseball Southern California Super Regional round. They won game one, 8-3, lost game two, 2-1, and prevailed 8-7 in the series finale.

Recapping the Regional vs Pasadena City College

The No.2 Warriors swept past the No. 15 Pasadena City Lancers in two games.  They won Game One 6-0 and Game Two 5-1. The Warriors outscored the Lancers 11-1 and outhit them 21 to 11.  In Game One, Jimmy Galicia went the distance and tossed a 9-inning complete game shutout. The Warriors jumped to an early 3-0 lead in the second inning and never looked back enroute to a 6-0 victory. In Game Two, Aaron Orozco tossed a 9-inning complete game in 105 pitches.  The Warriors were the designated visitor team and took a 2-0 lead in the top of the 1st. Pasadena scored their only run of the weekend in the first inning on a balk. The Warriors were able to tack on runs in the 3rd, 5th, and 6th inning to pick up a 5-1 victory.

Recapping the Super Regional vs Cypress College

The No.2 Warriors needed all three games to get past No.11 Cypress College.  The Warriors took Game One, 8-3, led by another 9 inning complete game from Jimmy Galicia.  A big six run inning including a grand slam by Joseph Borges was all the Warriors needed to hold onto the victory over the Chargers.  In Game Two, it was a pitchers duel between Aaron Orozco and Reid Sebby of Cypress. The Chargers ultimately scored two runs after Orozco was pulled.  El Camino rallied with one run in the 9th and had a chance and had the tying and go-ahead run on base, but a flyout double play ended the frame and the Chargers won 2-1.  In Game 3, the Warriors and Chargers traded blows early but El Camino held a 6-3 lead heading into the 9th inning. Cypress fired off five hits and scored four runs to take a 7-6 lead.  However, Spencer Long called game and hit a game-winning two run walk-off homerun over the LF wall to secure the series for the Warriors and Game 3, 8-7.

Joseph Borges On a Tear

The sophomore center fielder is on fire for the Warriors this postseason.  He has a batting average of .500 (12-for-24), .500 OBP, and a .941 slugging percentage. He has scored 7 runs, has 8 RBIs, and 1 home run.  For the season, Borges is slashing .344/363/.463.

Not Your Typical 9-Hole Hitter

Taishi Nakawake has batted in the 9th spot in the lineup for the whole season.  Nakawake is is fifth on the team with a .297 batting average. Nakawake has 44 hits and 27 runs scored.  Through the postseason, Nakawake is slashing .471/.474/.588 with 8 hits, 4 runs scored, and 2 RBIs.

Run Up the Racks

Aaron Orozco has struck out 105 batters in 98.1 innings pitched.  Orozco has a 9.6 K/9 ratio. Orozco is number 4 in the state in strikeouts and no.1 in Southern California.  He has fanned 17 batters so far in the CCCAA Southern California Baseball Playoffs.

Pitching Leading the Way

The Warriors are the No.1 team in the state with a 2.13 ERA from the pitching staff. Jimmy Galicia (1.68), Aaron Orozco (2.01), Max Pappas (2.43), and four relievers have an ERA under 2.50. Both Galicia and Orozco are tied for third in the state with 11 wins. The Warriors have allowed the fourth least amount of hits with 301 in the state and have an opposing team batting average of .217 (lowest among teams remaining in postseason play).  The pitching staff is no.1 in the state in runs/earned allows (109 runs/90 earned runs). They have allowed 90 earned runs in 380.2 innings pitched.

No Free Passes Here

The Warriors have allowed the second fewest walks in the state with 101 (lowest among teams remaining in the postseason).  They are tied with Irvine Valley, however IVC did not qualify for the postseason.

Quality Work

The Warriors pitching staff has produced 35 quality starts in 43 games.  Jimmy Galicia leads the way with 13 outings, Aaron Orozco has 11, Max Pappas 10, and Nathan Draves has one. The pitching staff has only allowed one team to score double-digit runs in one game, vs Chaffey on April 11th.

Always Be Closing

Spencer Long is tied for fourth in the state with 8 saves.  Long has been excellent on the mound allowing just five rus 24 innings pitched.  Long has a 1.88 ERA and has fanned 28 batters and allowed just three walks. In nine of his twelve appearances, Long has thrown more than one inning.

Defense Wins Championships

The Warriors have the second ranked defense in terms of fielding percentage (.977).  Ohlone is top in the state with a (.979) fielding percentage. The Warriors have committed the second lowest amount of errors (37) in the state, Ohlone College is number one with 36.  

Multi-Tasking

The Warriors have four players with double-digit multi-hit games, led by Joseph Borges 17 and Spencer Palmer's 16.  Borges is batting .344 and leads the team with 55 hits and four home runs. Palmer is batting .338 and is second on the team with 52 hits, 16 doubles, 3 home runs, and two triples. Taishi Nakawake has 12 multi-hit games and Aaron Orozco has 11. Orozco is batting .311 with 42 hits.  Nakawake is batting .297 with 44 hits.

Protect This House

The Warriors are 19-3 in home games at Warrior Field. They have outscored opponents 148 runs to 63 runs in home games.

I Am Iron Man

Sophomores Spencer Palmer, Taishi Nakawake, Ty Conrad, and Spencer Long are the only four players to have played in every game so far this season

Recognition Earned

Eight Warriors were given All-South Coast Conference, South Division honors.  Aaron Orozco, Jimmy Galicia, and Joseph Borges were named to the first team. Max Pappas, Spencer Long, Spencer Palmer, Taishi Nakawake, and Ty Conrad were named to the second team.

The Pitching Staff/Probable Starters

Game 1-Jimmy Galicia.  11-2, 1.68 ERA.

Game 2-Aaron Orozco. 11-1, 2.01 ERA.

Game 3-Max Pappas.  7-1, 2.43 ERA.

Once a Warrior, Always a Warrior

The Warriors had to deal with more adversity then most teams had to deal with this season.  They lost starting outfielder Brett Gieseke after the 14th game of the season right before conference play started on a non-contact injury at practice.

On April 18th, the Warriors lost a teammate in Sladen Mohl to a tragic car accident.  Mohl was the starting catcher to one of the best pitching staffs in the state. Sladen is survived by his parents and four siblings.

"We are all deeply saddened by this tragedy. Sladen was an excellent baseball player but an even better teammate and individual. He was kind, positive and brought smiles to everyone he came in contact with. Our hearts are with his family at this moment. Sladen will be missed but never forgotten. Once a Warrior, always a Warrior," said Nate Fernley, ECC Baseball Head Coach.

The rest of the season has been dedicated to Sladen. A fallen teammate, brother, and friend.  

SLADEN MOHL MEMORIAL FUND

El Camino College baseball head coach Nate Fernley has started the "Sladen Mohl Memorial Fund" to aid Sladen's family in covering upcoming costs and arrangements.

"Sladen Mohl was a beloved friend, son, family member and teammate to many people across the country. Sladen left us far too early, but has left a life-long impact on every individual that he has come in contact with. We are raising funds to help support his loving family with the upcoming costs and arrangements. Sladen was from Alaska so we would like to bring him home. All donations will be going directly to Sladen's mother for the expenses."

Donations can be made by following this link: https://www.gofundme.com/sladen-mohl-memorial-fund