Orange Empire Conference Baseball Title up for Grabs

In arguably one of the toughest baseball conferences in all of California, this year's Orange Empire Conference title is completely up for grabs, following a five-game stretch that has all eight teams within a game of each other in the standings.

The talent up and down the OEC is as deep as it's ever been, as evidenced by the most recent Southern California polls, which has SEVEN of the eight teams in the conference ranked in the top 20.

In order of this year's current OEC standings, here is a team-by-team breakdown …

ORANGE COAST

15-4 overall, 3-2 in OEC

Southern California Ranking – No. 1

It's been a well-balanced display of consistent hitting and dominant pitching that has led the Pirates to the top of the Southern California rankings. Coast rolled through the nonconference portion of its schedule with a 12-2 record before a couple of extra-inning losses to Cypress (2-1 in 13 innings) and Riverside (6-5 in 10 innings) brought the Pirates back to Earth. The Pirates are the state's best in several offensive categories, including hits (219), doubles (40), triples (10), home runs (9), slugging percentage (.443) and batting average (.317). Coast's pitching staff is ranked second in California with a 1.48 team ERA and 155 strikeouts. Tommy Bell's .452 batting average is tied for the state lead, along with Butte College's Braxton Phillips. Chris Iriart leads the state with four home runs and 23 RBI. Cody Nulph leads the team with 30 hits (.405 batting average), while Cody Bruder (.367) is second with 29 hits. OCC has out-hit its competition 219-112, including 59 extra-base hits to just 12 for the opposition.

On the mound, the Pirates' starting trio of Jacob Hill (5-0, 0.62 ERA), David Hill (4-0, 0.65 ERA) and Art Vidro (4-0, 0.98 ERA) have combined to allow just eight earned runs over 98 1/3 innings of work with 94 strikeouts. Relievers Parker Manahan, Tanner Murphey, Dominic Purpura, Joe Reta and Brian Bass have allowed a combined two earned runs over 28 1/3 innings of work with 28 strikeouts. David Wilson and Spencer Moran each have a pair of saves to further add depth to the Coast pitching staff.

FULLERTON

13-5 overall, 3-2 in OEC

Southern California Ranking – No. 4

The defending OEC champions and state runners-up have continued their strong play into 2014. After a solid 10-3 nonconference record, the Hornets have gone 3-2 over five straight OEC road contests, posting wins over Saddleback (3-2), Cypress (6-0) and Riverside (7-6, 11 innings). Returning OEC Player of the Year, Dakota Wix, has continued his fine play in 2014 with a .313 batting average, 26 hits, 17 runs and 10 RBI. Fellow sophomore K.C. Huth has been even better, leading the team with a .385 batting average with 25 hits, six doubles and 17 RBI.

Sophomore left-hander Nick Morton leads the Hornets' pitching staff with a 3-1 record, two complete games and a 1.97 ERA. He has allowed just seven earned runs over 32 innings with 24 strikeouts. Fellow starter Dylan Prohoroff is 1-0 with a 2.52 ERA with 23 strikeouts in 25 innings of work. Top relievers Parker Merritt and Austin Sweet have combined to go 3-1 with three saves and 15 strikeouts over 23 1/3 innings.

SANTA ANA

12-6 overall, 3-2 in OEC

Southern California Ranking – No. 5

Despite the departure of longtime skipper Don Sneddon, the Dons have not lost a beat and remain one of the top teams in all of community college baseball.  SAC won nine of its first 13 games before posting OEC wins over Riverside (7-3), Fullerton (11-3) and Irvine Valley (9-5). The Dons have scored more runs (133), RBI (118) and stolen bases (46) than any team in the state and are third in the state with 193 hits and a .305 team batting average. Sophomore Garrett Brown leads the team with 20 hits, 14 RBI and is 8-for-8 in stolen bases, while freshman Troy Baird has notched 17 hits and a .447 batting average.  Sophomore Ryan Aguilar leads the team with nine stolen bases and 19 runs scored to go along with a .333 batting average and 11 RBI. Eleven different players have 10-or-more hits for the Dons through the first 18 games of the season.

On the mound, starter Evanne Wilkes has been strong with a 3-0 record and a 1.52 ERA with 14 strikeouts over 29 2/3 innings. Fellow starter Tyler Sloan is 4-0 with 14 strikeouts and a 2.13 ERA over 25 1/3 IP. Relievers A.J. Franks (2-1, three saves, 1.74 ERA) and Daniel Ferrell (1-1, 3.86 ERA) have combined for 25 appearances and 39 innings of work.

RIVERSIDE

9-9 overall, 3-2 in OEC

Southern California Ranking – No. 20

It was an up-and-down nonconference portion of the schedule for the Tigers, who entered OEC play with a record of just 6-7. Following a loss to Santa Ana, RCC came to life with three straight wins over Golden West, Cypress and Orange Coast before falling late to Fullerton in 11 innings. RCC's offense, which is batting .270 as a team, is led by sophomores Nick Bruno and Josh Clark. Bruno is batting .347 with 17 hits and six runs, while Clark has a team-best 19 hits and nine runs scored to go along with his .333 batting average.

The talk around the OEC water coolers was the Tigers' pitching staff and so far, they have not disappointed. Riverside's staff has a combined 2.82 ERA and it's led by sophomore starter Don Sullivan (2-0, one complete game, 1.88 ERA) and freshman starter Angel Delgado (1-0, 0.53 ERA, 15 strikeouts in 17 IP). Top reliever for the Tigers has been freshman Nick Hynes, who has 11 strikeouts in 11 2/3 innings and has posted a 1.54 ERA in eight appearances out of the bullpen.

CYPRESS

11-7 overall, 2-3 in OEC

Southern California Ranking – No. 7

The Chargers showed everyone in the CCCAA just how deep the OEC was last year. After finishing the season in fourth place in conference, the Chargers got hot at the right time and rode their pitchers and hitters all the way to the state championship. Cypress went 9-4 outside of conference and opened OEC play with a dramatic 2-1, 13-inning win at Orange Coast. After a three-game losing streak to IVC, Riverside and Fullerton, the Chargers bounced back with a win at Golden West. Freshman infielder Tyler Gneseda has been a bright spot in the Cypress lineup, leading the team with a .341 batting average. Cypress, which is tied for the state lead with OCC with nine home runs, is led by Kramer Ferrell (3) and Joe Duffin (2).

Last year's OEC Pitcher of the Year and State Pitcher of the Year, Steven Kane, is still going strong in 2014, posting a 2-1 record with a 2.19 ERA with 29 strikeouts over 37 innings of work. Fellow sophomore Matt Esparza is 3-0 with a 1.55 ERA and 37 Ks over 29 innings and has anchored a Chargers' staff that has posted a respectable team ERA of 2.59. Top reliever for the Chargers in 2014 has been freshman Nathan Kuchta, who is 1-1 with one save, a 1.62 ERA and 19 strikeouts over 16 2/3 innings.

SADDLEBACK

10-7 overall, 2-3 in OEC

Southern California Ranking – No. 10

Winners of eight of their first 12 nonconference contests, the Gauchos entered conference play winners of three straight. But, the OEC is a different animal and Saddleback stumbled early with losses to Irvine Valley and Fullerton before bouncing back with wins over Golden West and Santa Ana. But three in a row did not happen, thanks to a 7-4 loss to Orange Coast.  Freshman Dylan Diaz has been the Gauchos' top hitter, batting .371 with a team-best 23 hits, 16 runs and 11 extra-base hits. A trio of Gauchos – Louie Payetta (.327), Mitchell Holland (.300) and Casey Worden (.269) -- each have 18 hits with Holland leading the team with 16 RBI.

With a team ERA of 2.74, sophomore Anthony Shew has led the way on the mound for the Gauchos, posting a 3-0 record with one complete game, 36 strikeouts, only four walks and a 1.34 ERA in 40 1/3 innings. Sophomore Trey Ferketic is 1-2, but with a solid 1.99 ERA and 23 strikeouts in 31 2/3 inning. Reliever Coleman Huntley has been at the right place at the right time with a 3-1 record with two saves and a 1.20 ERA in 15 innings (nine appearances).

GOLDEN WEST

11-9 overall, 2-3 in OEC

Southern California Ranking – No. 12

Much like the rest of the OEC, the Rustlers have struggled to find consistency with the start of conference play, following a solid 9-6 nonconference record. An impressive 3-2, 10-inning win over defending conference champion Fullerton was followed up with losses to Riverside and Saddleback before the Rustlers shut out IVC and fell to Cypress to fall to 2-3 in conference. GWC has struggled at the plate with a .251 team batting average, despite a strong start by sophomore infielder Michael Farris, who is batting .341 and is tied for the team lead with 29 hits along with Frank Califano (.312 batting average, seven extra-base hits). Sophomore catcher Andrew Yazdanbakhsh (.312, 11 RBI) and Jordan Lucio (.291) each are close behind the team leaders with 25 hits.

On the mound for the Rustlers, it's been a solid start to the season, thanks to a team ERA of 2.38. Top starter for GWC has been sophomore Isaiah Terrazas, who is 2-0 with a complete game and a 1.44 ERA. He's allowed just eight earned runs over 50 innings with 29 strikeouts. Tanner Brown (0-1, 1 CG, 1.95 ERA) and Michael Moore (1-4, 3.35 ERA) have also been strong starters for the Rustlers, while the bullpen has been anchored by Farris (3-1, 2 saves, 0.00 ERA) and David Wiggins (2-1, 1 save, one complete game, 2.84 ERA).

IRVINE VALLEY

6-11 overall, 2-3 in OEC

It was a rough start to the Lasers' season after a five-game losing streak helped put IVC into a 4-8 record after nonconference play. But the Lasers showed the rest of the OEC not to take them for granted after posting back-to-back wins over Saddleback (4-3) and defending state champion Cypress (6-3). However, the IVC offense ran into a couple of tough pitching staffs and was beaten by Orange Coast (6-0), Golden West (1-0) and Santa Ana (9-5) to drop to 2-3. Freshman Adam Vargas (.333, 17 hits, nine RBI) and sophomore Matt Harris (.311, 19 hits, nine RBI) have been bright spots to a Laser offense that is batting just .246 as a team.

On the mound for IVC, starters Chris Lumanlan (2-2, 3.55 ERA) and Jesus Meza (1-4, 3.58 ERA) have given the staff sophomore leadership atop the rotation, while reliever A.J. Wolfson has gone 2-0 with one save and a 2.61 ERA. Keep an eye on freshman starter Donny Pierce, who is 1-1 with a 1.93 ERA and seven strikeouts  in 9 1/3 innings of work.