Eight Pirates earn All-OEC honors
COSTA MESA -- It was a well-represented batch of Pirates on this year's All-Orange Empire Conference list as eight members of the Orange Coast College baseball team were selected, as chosen by the head coaches at their postseason meeting.
After helping the Pirates to their second straight OEC baseball title -- the first back-to-back conference titles for OCC in 30 years -- seven OCC players earned first-team honors, including pitchers Michael Giacone and Cameron Jabara, infielders Coby Kauhaahaa and Murphy Stehly, outfielders Ramiro Velasco and Skylar Limonchi and designated hitter Jacob Doty.
Giacone was third among all OEC pitchers with a 1.95 ERA, going 3-1 in six conference starts, allowing just seven earned runs over 32 1/3 innings with 45 strikeouts. His 12.53 strikeouts-per-nine-inning ratio was tops among all OEC hurlers.
Jabara went a perfect 3-0 in seven starts for the Pirates, posting a 3.63 ERA after allowing 16 earned runs over 39 2/3 innings with 33 strikeouts.
Kauhaahaa batted a conference-best .415 with 27 hits and 12 RBI for the Pirates during Orange Empire Conference play, while Stehly was close behind at .365 with 23 hits, six extra-base hits and 12 RBI.
Velasco tied for the conference lead in home runs (4) and was second in the OEC with 22 RBI, while batting .313 with 25 hits, seven doubles and 17 runs scored.
Limonchi batted .337 as OCC's leadoff hitter and finished sixth in the conference with 30 hits and scored 16 runs.
Doty, who became an established member of the Pirate lineup early in conference play, made the most of his opportunity with a .317 batting average, four home runs (tied for the most in the OEC) and 11 RBI.
Earning second-team honors for the Pirates was sophomore righty Doug Magee, who went 4-0 with a save in nine relief opportunities. He posted a 3.28 ERA and allowed only nine earned runs over 24 2/3 innings.
OCC head coach John Altobelli was named the Orange Empire Conference Coach of the Year for the seventh time in his 26-year coaching career after leading the Pirates to their 20th conference baseball championship in school history.
