Pirates open State Final Four against Delta in '14 championship rematch

COSTA MESA -- The Orange Coast College baseball team will take on San Joaquin Delta in the opening game of the 2015 California Community College Athletic Association State Baseball Championships on Saturday at 12 p.m. at Fresno City College's John Euless Ballpark.

While this appears to be a rematch of last year's state title game (won by the Pirates, 5-3), it is a rematch in name only.

While the top-seeded Mustangs (39-5) enter the Final Four with a plethora of sophomore returners, the south's No. 2-seeded Pirates (27-17) have just two returning starting position players, one starting pitcher and one reliever-turned-starter back from last year's championship team that saw SIXTEEN Pirates move on to four-year baseball.

But don't tell the Pirates that this is a waste of time. Underdogs throughout the entire postseason, Coast (seeded 10th when the playoffs began) has won three straight road playoff matchups against No. 7 Long Beach City College (18-3, 3-2), No. 8 Glendale (0-13, 4-2, 7-1) and No. 3 Santa Barbara (1-3, 5-2, 10-2).

Coast has been led by a steady stream of quality arms, including last year's state tournament MVP Art Vidrio, who enters the final weekend with an 8-3 record and a 3.07 ERA, allowing 32 earned runs and 68 strikeouts over 93 2/3 innings.

Fellow returner and ring owner Dominic Purpura has moved from the bullpen to the starting rotation and the sophomore lefty has delivered with a 4-1 overall record with seven saves and a 2.76 ERA.

Fellow utility thrower, sophomore righty Scott Serigstad has been on fire in the postseason and is 6-3 with a 2.51 ERA, averaging one strikeout per inning pitched all season long (72 Ks in 71 2/3 IP).

But pehaps the unsung hero for the Pirates in the postseason has been designated hitter/pitcher Stephen Corona, who is 2-0 in the postseason and 3-1 overall with a 1.72 ERA.

The Coast offense, which comes in with a .286 team batting average, has managed to find enough success up and down the lineup thanks to the team's balance up and down the order. In fact, no starting position player is batting under .275 and are led by sophomore Tommy Bell (.306, 49 hits, 33 runs, 18 extra-base hits, three home runs, 30 RBI), freshman outfielder Chris Prescott (.325, 27 hits, 14 runs, eight RBI), sophomore shortstop Jeff Nellis (.303, 40 hits, 21 runs, 14 RBI), sophomore catcher Jack Kruger (.300, 48 hits, 31 runs, 21 RBI) and sophomore Robert Longtree (.300, 33 hits, 25 runs, 12 RBI).

The Mustangs (39-4) briefly flirted with baseball history after winning their first 28 games en route to capturing the Big 8 Conference title. Delta managed to overcome a pair of playoff losses -- including an 8-2 setback against the College of San Mateo in the Sectionals before winning, 8-5 and 7-2 to earn a return trip to Fresno.

SJD starter Cameron Leeper is the state's leader in wins (14) and strikeouts (120), while right-hander Dean Kremer is 12-1 with a 2.00 ERA. Fellow righty Ricky Delgado helped keep the Mustangs' season alive with a pair of Sunday wins in the playoffs and he enters the Final Four with a 9-0 record and a 1.82 ERA.

The Mustangs, who enter with a .272 team batting average, are led offensively by Lance Berringer (.324, 35 hits, 17 runs, 18 RBI) and Kris Bartlett (.311, 41 hits, 22 runs, 20 RBI). Speedsters Ryan Smith (.292, 40 hits, 27 RBI, 16 stolen bases) and Nate Easley (.279, 43 hits, 27 RBI, 13 RBI) help spark Delta's offense, while sophomore catcher Collin Theroux anchors the power with a .261 average with eight home runs and 35 RBI.

The winner of Saturday's game will play the winner of the other Final Four game between Palomar and Fresno City at 2 p.m. on Sunday. The loser will play the loser of the Comets/Rams matchup on Sunday at 10 a.m.