By
Tony Lee
On
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
The OCC Sports Blog suffered because yours truly went to visit potential colleges to transfer to next year. For the loyal readers who missed out on a week's worth of Orange Coast College athletics, I am truly sorry.
But to continue on the topic of college transfers, here are some of the players from the 2009 state champion Pirate baseball team that moved onto other places.
The MVP of the state championship playoffs, starting catcher D.J.Arellano (right), is at New Mexico State University.
Pirates' lead off outfielder Ryan Sheeks is now a member of Concordia University Irvine Eagles.
Infielder Ryan Dunn, who was benched for the Super Regional Playoffs after a rough regular season but returned to the starting lineup in the State Championship to hit 7-for-14 with a home run, seven runs scored and six runs batted in (RBI), is at Oregon State University.
Pitcher Calvin Drummond, as a freshman, has transferred to University of San Diego.
As reported earlier, Brett Williams and Beck Wheeler are still going to USC and UC Santa Barbara, respectively.
Brett Wallach, the 2009 Orange Empire Conference Player of the Year, was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the third round in the latest baseball draft.
After he signed with the Dodgers, Wallach (left), in 12 appearances with a Dodges affiliate Ogden Raptors, compiled a 0-1 record with a 5.23 earned run average (ERA) in 31 innings pitched wth 38 strikeouts.
Starting third baseman Drew Hillman, who was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 38th round, is at UC Irvine to continue his baseball career.
Starting center fielder Mykal Stokes, drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 46th round, is back at Coast as a sophomore.
Head coach John Altobelli said in about two months, he'll have a better idea for the 2010 roster for the Pirates.
[Photos courtesy of Hank Schellingerhout]
baseball,
Beck Wheeler,
Brett Wallach,
Brett Williams,
Calvin Drummond,
D.J. Arellano,
Drew Hillman,
Hank Schellingerhout,
Mykal Stokes,
Ryan Dunn,
Ryan Sheeks
By
Tony Lee
On
Thursday, April 02, 2009
Talk about the top of the ninth inning for a little bit. Were Calvin Drummond’s pitches where you wanted them?Down in the zone was what I was looking for but the pitches drifted back over the plate. A lot of our pitchers throw a lot of balls that move a lot so you miss your spot even a little bit, those pitches will fall back in the strike zone. It’s just one of those things you know – it was their day to win.
Talk about that really quickly. You guys were on a 12-game winning streak. It was a hell-of-a-run. We were putting things together, we were getting hits right when we needed them; the thing about baseball it’s one of the easiest things to do when you’re hot and it’s one of the hardest things to do when you’re not. I think it’s a good thing to experience a loss because it kind of gets of refocused, back on the grind, so we’re not going into every game expecting to win. It’ll kind of revitalize our guys’ work ethics a little bit.
Talk about Santa Ana College’s Christian Meza’s 13 strikeout performance today.I know him very well. I faced him in all four years of high school. I played with him a lot in the summer. He’s a great pitcher, he absolutely deserved to win, I’m proud for him as a friend and he deserved it – he pitched a hell-of-a-game.
Anything else you want to add?We’re not too bothered by this loss. We know we’re still in first place (in the Orange Empire Conference). We’re ready to get back to practice and go on another winning streak.
[Photo by Tony Lee]
