Pirates host Southwestern in Southern California Sectionals

COSTA MESA -- A trip to the State Final Four is one the line as the Orange Coast College baseball team hosts Southwestern this weekend in the Southern California Sectionals, beginning on Friday at 2 p.m. at Wendell Pickens Field.

Game 2 of this best-of-three series will take place on Saturday at 12 p.m. with a third game (if necessary) slated for Sunday at 1 p.m.

The winner of the this series will advance to the the State Final Four, which will be held at Fresno City College, May 24-26.

For the top-seeded Pirates (31-9), they have done their job, sweeping past El Camino (7-4, 8-2) and Allan Hancock (9-3, 8-6) to reach this year's Sectionals. Winners of 10 in a row, Coast is looking for its fourth trip to the State Final Four since 2005 and its fifth state championship in school history (1956, 1960, 1980, 2009).

For the ninth-seeded Jaguars (29-12), they are looking for their second trip to the State Final Four in school history. Their only other trip came in 2008, where the Jags finished second in the state, behind champion Sierra College.

The Pirates and Jags have played each other twice this year, with each winning at the other's ballpark. SWC came up to Wendell Pickens Field on Feb. 11 and rallied for a 6-5 win. Two weeks later, Coast played down in Chula Vista and blanked the Jags, 4-0.

Against common opponents this year (Santa Ana, Fullerton, Irvine Valley, El Camino and Palomar), Southwestern went 7-3, while the Pirates won 10-of-13.

Sophomore Cody Nulph leads a Pirates offense that is clicking on all cylinders during their 10-game win streak, averaging 9.1 runs per game. Nulph (.407, 66 hits, 16 doubles, 37 runs, 29 RBI) enters this weekend with an impressive 25-game hit streak. The Auburn University-bound shortstop's last 0-fer occurred all the way back on Feb. 19 -- the Orange Empire Conference opener for the Pirates.

Freshman outfielder Tommy Bell (.410, 55 hits, 4 HR, 36 RBI) has 15 multi-hit games and went 7-for-8 with two runs and three RBI in OCC's sweep over El Camino in the opening round of the playoffs.

Nearly matching Nulph's consistent streak at the plate has been sophomore Cody Bruder (.370, 61 hits, 34 runs, 20 extra-base hits, 30 RBI). Bruder, a steady centerfielder for the Pirates all season long, has hits in 23 of the last 25 games and has notched six hits, four runs and eight RBI in the playoffs. OCC enters Friday's game with a .312 team batting average.

As usual, the Pirate pitching starts and stops with the Hill Bros. -- sophomore starters David and Jacob Hill. David has been the rock of the staff, throwing 102 innings in 2014 and is 10-1 with a 1.41 ERA, allowing just 16 earned runs with 15 walks and 99 strikeouts. Jacob, who started nine games and won all nine of them, is 10-0 this year with a 1.33 ERA, but arm troubles have kept him off of the mound in the playoffs. His status for this weekend's Sectional remains uncertain.

With Jacob Hill's status up in the air, freshman starter Art Vidro has stepped in nicely as OCC's No. 2 starter. He is 6-3 with a 2.55 ERA and is a perfect 2-0 in the playoffs, allowing three runs (one earned) in 13 2/3 innings with 11 strikeouts. OCC's team ERA heading into Friday's Sectionals is 1.93.

Southwestern comes into this weekend's matchup fresh off of a Regional sweep at No. 8 Rio Hondo and a Super Regional win at No. 3 Santa Ana. With all five games taking place on the road, the trip to OCC will not phase this ballclub.

Led by sophomore standout Chris Allen (.399, 61 hits, 35 runs, 12 doubles, 25 RBI, 21 stolen bases), the Jags enter Friday's game with a team batting average of .301.

Three other players have eclipsed the 50-hit mark, including Miguel Solano (.340, 53 hits, 23 RBI), Daniel Goodrich (.338, 51 hits, 27 RBI) and Robert Lucero (.321, 51 hits, 42 runs, 24 RBI, 19 stolen bases).

Leading a Jaguar pitching staff that enters the Sectionals with a 2.90 team ERA is Kevin Ginkel, who is 8-2 this year with a 2.38 ERA, allowing 22 earned runs over 83 1/3 innings with 57 strikeouts.  

Starter/reliever Dylan McDonald (4-2, 2.82 ERA, 60 2/3 IP, 43 strikeouts) was the star of the Jags' staff in last weekend's Super Regional. In Friday's opener, he earned the save with two shutout innings, then on Sunday, pitched a complete-game, six-hitter against the hot-hitting Dons.

Another strong arm on the Jags' staff is Calvin Faucher, who is 3-2 with a 2.66 ERA with 29 strikeouts over 40 2/3 innings.