Baseball Hosts Cypress For CCCAA Super Regional

The El Camino College baseball team continues its quest back to Fresno for the CCCAA State Championship when it hosts No. 11 Cypress College in the super regional round of the California Community College Baseball State Championships Super Regionals which starts on Thursday afternoon at 2 p.m. at Warrior Field

THE DETAILS

No. 2 El Camino College (34-6) vs. No. 11 Cypress (29-13)

The Game Schedule

Game 1-Thursday May 9th (2:00 PM) at Warrior Field

Game 2-Friday May 10th (2:00 PM) at Warrior Field

Game 3 (if necessary)-Saturday May 11th (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.

FOLLOW THE ACTION

Live stats and live video will be available for all the games against the Chargers. 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/2VPDDSJ (Game 1) https://bit.ly/2DXoQvd (Game 2) https://bit.ly/2VYwsIl (Game 3)

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

Getting to know the opponents

HOW THEY GOT HERE

Cypress College (29-13) tied for fourth place in the Orange Empire Conference with Golden West College.  They finished behind Orange Coast, Riverside, and Santa Ana. The Chargers drew the No. 11 seed and faced No. 6 Bakersfield College in the first round of the playoffs.  The Chargers swept the Renegades in two games and won game one 11-4 and game 2 11-8.

Series History vs Cypress

The Warriors played at Cypress College in a non-conference game on February 26th and won the game 6-3.  At the time, both teams had the best records in Southern California and the Warriors hit their first two home runs of the season.  Recap for the game is here: https://bit.ly/2ISouLx

Cypress Notes

Cypress is fifth in the state with a .320 batting average and third in the state with 480 hits.  They are ninth in the state with 341 runs scored. The Chargers had eight players given All-OEC conference honors.  Starting Pitcher Adrian Chaidez was named to the first team. Chaidez is 7-1 with a 3.36 ERA. Fellow starters Reid Sebby (6-3, 4.49 ERA) and Eric Chavarria (8-3, 4.43 ERA) were named to the second team. Outfielder Jesse Lopez (.397/.467/.651, 58 hits, 36 runs, 39 RBIs, 6 HRs) and infielder Mariano Ricciardi (.328/.401/.392, 41 hits, 23 runs, 17 RBIs) were named to the first team. Outfielders Hayden Winters (.371/.483/.743, 26 hits, 24 runs, 27 RBI), Isaiah Stewart (.362/.442/.526, 55 hits, 42 runs, 36 RBIs), and catcher Eric Bigani (.302/.345/.416, 45 hits, 22 runs, and 36 RBI) were named to thee second team.

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.

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.

Recapping the Series 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.

Run Up the Racks

Aaron Orozco has struck out 99 batters in 92.1 innings pitched.  Orozco has a 9.67 K/9 ratio. Orozco is number 4 in the state in strikeouts and no.1 in Southern California.  He fanned 11 batters against Pasadena in Game Two of the opening round of the CCCAA playoffs

Pitching Leading the Way

The Warriors are the No.1 team in the state with a 2.03 ERA from the pitching staff. Jimmy Galicia (1.65), Aaron Orozco (2.15), Max Pappas (2.40), and five relievers have an ERA under 2.50. The Warriors have allowed the least amount of hits with 276 in the state and have an opposing team batting average of .215.  The pitching staff is no.1 in the state in runs/earned allows (97 runs/80 earned runs). They have allowed 80 earned runs in 354.2 innings pitched.

No Free Passes Here

The Warriors have allowed the fewest walks in the state with 94.  They are tied with Irvine Valley, however IVC did not qualify for the postseason.  Long Beach is the next closest team with 101 walks allowed.

Quality Work

The Warriors pitching staff has produced 32 quality starts in 40 games.  Jimmy Galicia leads the way with 12 outings, Aaron Orozco has 10, Max Pappas 9, 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 nearly perfect on the mound allowing just one run in 21 innings pitched.  Long has a 0.43 ERA and has fanned 23 batters and allowed just two walks. In eight of his eleven appearances, Long has thrown more than one inning.

Defense Wins Championships

The Warriors have the second ranked defense in terms of fielding percentage (.978).  Ohlone is top in the state with a (.981) fielding percentage. The Warriors have committed the second lowest amount of errors (33) in the state, Ohlone College is number one with 31.  

Multi-Tasking

The Warriors have four players with double-digit multi-hit games, led by Joseph Borges and Spencer Palmer's 15. Palmer is batting .340 and leads the team with 48 hits, 15 doubles, 3 home runs, and two triples. Borges is batting .322 and is second on the team with 47 hits and three home runs. Aaron Orozco and Taishi Nakawake both have 11 multi-hit games. Orozco is batting .320 with 40 hits.  Nakawake is batting .288 with 40 hits.

Protect This House

The Warriors are 17-2 in home games at Warrior Field. They have outscored opponents 131 runs to 51 runs in home games.

Iron Men

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.  10-2, 1.65 ERA.

Game 2-Aaron Orozco. 11-1, 2.15 ERA.

Game 3-Max Pappas.  7-1, 2.39 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