Posted: Apr 08, 2020

2020 Season Interrupted: Highlights From South Coast Conference Baseball

El Camino College, led by pitcher/hitter Jimmy Galicia, was leading the SCC baseball race at the time of the season stoppage.

With the sudden stoppage in early March of the 2020 South Coast Conference baseball season due to the worldwide health crisis, the end result produced no champion and no All-SCC Team but it doesn't take away from the performances of the teams and their individuals. Here's a recap of SCC baseball's highlights.

STANDINGS

Four teams shared divisional crowns in 2019 but the '20 conference was back to a single league of 9 teams. At the time of the last game on March 11, it was '19 CCCAA state runner-up El Camino College occupying first place with a 10-1 SCC mark and a solid 16-6 overall record. The Warriors were on an 8-game winning streak, including 3-game series sweeps over both Cerritos and LA Harbor.

Long Beach City had the conference's best overall record at 17-5 and stood in second place at 8-2. The Vikings ran off eight straight victories to open SCC play but were tripped up in their last two conference outings v. Mt. San Antonio and Cerritos. LBCC had swept SCC series over Compton and Rio Hondo. On the only California Community College Sports Information Association (CCCSIA) State Top 20 poll of the season on March 10, Long Beach was sitting at #3 while El Camino was ranked #15. No other conference team was rated.

In the SoCal Coaches Association Rankings, the conference was well represented with Long Beach at #4, Mt. San Antonio #8, El Camino #9, Cerritos #10, and Rio Hondo at #18.

Two teams that were cellar dwellars in 2019 were making big turnarounds in third-place Cerritos (finished fifth last year in the SCC South) at 13-8 and 6-4 in conference play and Rio Hondo (fifth last season in the SCC North) in fourth at 12-9 and 5-4. The two teams had already surpassed their '19 win totals and the Roadrunners were the only returning team from the old North side with an above .500 record in conference games. The Falcons had come out of the regular season gate with a 7-game win streak while Rio Hondo was on a roll right at the stoppage with a 4-game win streak, including a sweep of a series over Compton.

Pasadena City (10-11 overall) occupied fifth place at 4-5 in conference while fellow defending SCC North Co-Champion Mt. San Antonio was in sixth a half-game back at 4-6. The Mounties were 13-8 overall and had opened the season a red-hot 9-1 before slumping. However, Mt. SAC seemed to be righting its ship, winning its last two games by a combined 28-3 count over Long Beach and Compton. In the always fierce rivalry between Mt. SAC and PCC, it was the Lancers winning their series, 2-games-to-1, Feb. 25-29.

LA Harbor (seventh), East Los Angeles and Compton brought up the final three places in the tough South Coast race. The Seahawks (8-11, 2-4) twice had 4-game win streaks in their short season.

Individually, Pasadena's Marco Martinez led the South Coast in five different hitting categories, including runs scored, slugging percentage and RBI, and the third baseman led the state in OBP at .574. El Camino's Jimmy Galicia was leading the SCC in batting average (.395) and tied for the state lead in pitching wins with six. Long Beach's Matthew Pinal led the conference in home runs with four and also had four pitching victories.

STATE TEAM LEADERS (Top 10 only)
Hits--El Camino #10, 232
Triples--Mt. SAC #2, 14, Long Beach #5, 12
Stolen Bases--Mt. SAC #8, 49, Cerritos #9, 47
Walks--Pasadena #6, 119
ERA--Mt. SAC #6, 2.70, Long Beach #8, 2.75
Fewest BB Per 9 IP--Long Beach #3, 2.70, El Camino #4, 2.83

SOUTH COAST CONFERENCE INDIVIDUAL STATISTICAL LEADERS

https://southcoastconf.com/sports/bsb/2019-20/leaders

HITTING
Batting Average: Jimmy Galicia, El Camino, .395 (17-for-43), Marco Martinez, Pasadena, .388 (26-for-67), Bryan Sanders, Long Beach, .375 (24-for-64)
On Base Percentage: Martinez, .574, Jovanny Saldanna, LA Harbor, .485, Sanders. .481
Slugging Percentage: Martinez, .627, Diego Alarcon, El Camino, .543, Chris Villavicencio, El Camino, .537
RBI: Martinez, 22, Cole Jordan, Mt. San Antonio, 20, Thomas Kolling, Pasadena, 20
Hits: Alarcon, 30, Kolling, 30, Benny Casillas, El Camino, 29
Home Runs: Matthew Pinal, Long Beach, 4, Aaron Orozco, El Camino 3, 7 players with 2
Triples: Albert Luevano, Mt. SAC, 3, David Rivera, Long Beach, 3, Tai Walton, Pasadena, 3, Dylan Zavala, Mt. SAC, 3
Doubles: Jordan, 9, Villavicencio, 9, Alarcon, 8, Diego Flores, Rio Hondo, 8
Runs Scored: Martinez, 25, Villavicencio, 24, Diego Altamirano, Long Beach, 23
Stolen Bases: Buck Anderson, Cerritos, 13, Shea Estrin, Cerritos, 12, Jordan, 11
Walks: Martinez 25, Anderson 19, Gabe Arellano, Pasadena, 15, Casillas 15, Aryonis Harrison, Pasadena, 15
Hit By Pitches: Hunter Porter, LA Harbor, 10, Ricky Akles, Rio Hondo, 8, Flores, 7, Martinez, 7, Jacob Ogle, Pasadena, 7
Sacrifice Bunts: Adrian Estrada, Compton, 6, Anderson, 4, Anthony Reyes, Compton, 4, Jaren Surdo, Pasadena, 4
Sacrifice Flies: Alarcon, 4, Zach Rivas, Long Beach, 4, 4 players with 3

PITCHING
ERA: Mitchell Knight, Long Beach, 1.24 (29 IP), Benny Torres, Pasadena, 1.25 (21.2), Michael Ortega, Mt. SAC, 1.47 (30.2)
Wins: Jimmy Galicia, El Camino, 6, Julian Aguiar, El Camino, 5, 5 pitchers with 4
Saves: Knight, 5, Andy Hurtado, Cerritos, 4, Brandon Seibert, LA Harbor, 4
Strikeouts: Galicia, 56, David Hays, Cerritos, 47, Aguiar, 44, Diego Barrera, Mt. SAC, 44
Pitching Appearances: Garrett Paschal, Rio Hondo, 12, Michael Fletcher, Compton, 11, Knight, 11, Robert Valdez, Rio Hondo, 11
Innings Pitched: Galicia, 57, Aguiar, 47.1, Fletcher, 41.2, Noel Soto, Long Beach, 41
Games Started: Paco Dominguez, East LA, 8, Galicia, 8, 5 pitchers with 7

Marco Martinez of Pasadena City College led the SCC in five batting categories when the 2020 season was cancelled.