Posted: May 16, 2019
Delorefice earns MVP honors for Pirates as all-conference honors are announced
IRVINE -- After winning their third straight Orange Empire Conference title, several members of the Orange Coast College baseball team earned spots on this year's All-OEC list, as voted on by the conference's head coaches.
Highlighting the efforts of the Pirates was sophomore Davis Delorefice, who was named the conference's Most Valuable Player.
Delorefice was a standout leader for the Pirates, batting .407, second-best in the OEC. He tied for the conference lead in hits with 35 and was ranked in the top-5 in runs (24) and stolen bases (6). He also was OCC's closer and went 1-1 with a save in six appearances. For the season, he is batting .372 with 51 hits, 36 runs, seven triples and 30 RBI, leading the Pirates to this weekend's Southern California Sectional matchup with Mt. San Antonio College on Friday.
Six other OCC players earned first-team honors, including pitcher Cole Van Den Helder (10-1, 3.35 ERA, 54 strikeouts in 80 2/3 innings), catcher Tyler Lasch (.357, 51 hits, 40 runs, 31 RBI), first baseman Tommy Williams (.357, 45 hits, 40 runs, 23 RBI), shortstop Murphy Stehly (.379, 47 hits, 30 runs 33 RBI), third baseman David Morgan (.308, 41 hits, 23 runs, 31 RBI) and left fielder Jacob Gentry (.364, 40 hits, 15 runs, 30 RBI).
Sophomore outfielder Sylar Limonchi earned second-team honors after batting .298 with 34 hits, 26 runs and 17 RBI.
For the third straight year, Orange Coast College head coach John Altobelli was named the conference's Coach of the Year, guiding the Pirates to back-to-back-to-back OEC titles. It had been nearly four decades since the Pirates accomplished that feat, with Mike Mayne leading Coast to three straight conference titles in 1980-82. This year's Pirates finished the regular season 29-8-1 overall, 16-5 in conference, one games ahead of Riverside (30-10, 16-5) and four games up on Santa Ana (24-15, 12-9). Altobelli has 699 career wins and this weekend, he looks to become just the 15th head coach in California community college baseball history to win 700 career games.
2019 ALL-ORANGE EMPIRE CONFERENCE TEAM
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Davis Delorefice, Orange Coast (6'0, 185, So)
PITCHER OF THE YEAR: Garrett Irvin (6'0, 180, So)
COACH OF THE YEAR: John Altobelli, Orange Coast
FIRST TEAM
STARTING PITCHERS
Alex Salazar Riverside 6'0 185 So
Cole Van Den Helder Orange Coast 6'1 210 So
Nathan Cachu Santa Ana 6'0 215 So
Adrian Chaidez Cypress 6'1 170 So
RELIEF PITCHER
Josh Ibarra Golden West 6'2 200 So
CATCHERS
Steve Ramirez Riverside 6'0 195 So
Tyler Lasch Orange Coast 5'9 180 So
FIRST BASEMAN
Tommy Williams Orange Coast 6'0 200 So
INFIELDERS
Murphy Stehly Orange Coast 5'10 190 So
Mariano Ricciardi Cypress 5'7 170 Fr
David Morgan Orange Coast 6'0 180 Fr
Ray Villanueva Santa Ana 6'1 175 So
OUTFIELDERS
Jesse Lopez Cypress 5'9 170 So
Ryan Thibert Saddleback 6'0 175 Fr
Frank Garcia Santa Ana 5'10 190 Fr
Kyle Dobson Irvine Valley 6'2 200 So
Ulises Caballero Riverside 6'0 190 So
DESIGNATED HITTER
Seth Nelson Golden West 6'0 210 So
UTILITY
Jacob Gentry Orange Coast 6'0 190 So
Riley Kasper Saddleback 6'1 180 So
SECOND TEAM
STARTING PITCHERS
Justin Dunham Irvine Valley 6'3 205 Fr
Eric Romo Golden West 6'0 175 So
Reid Sebby Cypress 6'1 180 So
Eric Chavarria Cypress 6'2 170 So
RELIEF PITCHERS
Lawrence Castaneda Riverside 5'9 165 Fr
CATCHER
Copper Hansen Santa Ana 6'0 195 Fr
Eric Bigani Cypress 6'0 185 So
FIRST BASEMAN
Drake Wood Santa Ana 6'4 205 So
Pu'ukani De Sa Irvine Valley 6'0 200 Fr
INFIELDERS
James Williams Santa Ana 5'8 165 Fr
Matt Happ Riverside 5'11 170 So
Demitri Colacchio Saddleback 6'0 165 So
Nelson Padilla Golden West 5'10 180 So
OUTFIELDERS
Hayden Winters Cypress 6'2 220 Fr
Skylar Limonchi Orange Coast 5'8 155 So
Reed Beverly Saddleback 6'0 190 Fr
Isaiah Stewart Cypress 5'8 185 So
DESIGNATED HITTER
Ryan Stephens Fullerton 5'11 200 So
UTILITY
Justin Simpson Golden West 5'7 165 So
