Cox, Holcomb Are Selected Empire League Baseball MVPs

Eric Cox, Esperanza High’s catcher, and Scott Holcomb, El Dorado’s undefeated left-handed pitcher, have been named Most Valuable Players in the Empire League by the coaches.

During the regular season, Cox hit five homers, eight doubles, and drove in 32 runs for the league champion Aztecs.

Holcomb was the county’s No. 2- rated pitcher with a 10-0 record and a 1.74 earned-run average. He also hit .343 with four homers and 30 RBIs.

Esperanza Coach Mike Curran, who guided the Aztecs to a 21-3-1 record and the No. 2 ranking in the county, was selected Coach of the Year. His Esperanza teams have won 101 games in his six years as coach, including three straight league titles.

Other players named to the coaches’ teams:

First Team: Pitchers--Mike Golia (Loara), Tim MacNeil (Esperanza), Steve Halweg (Esperanza) and Jeff Petredes (El Dorado). Catchers--Mark Wolfe (Los Alamitos) and Brian Roberts (Loara). Infielders--Tom Redington (Esperanza), Jason Friedman (Cypress), Osmar DeChavez (Katella), Curt Henson (Loara) and J.T. Snow (Los Alamitos). Outfielders--Kevin Clancy (Esperanza), Todd Lloyd (Katella), Wade Clester (Loara) and Robbie Katzaroff (Los Alamitos). Utility--Emmitt Cohick (Esperanza).

Second Team: Pitchers--Randy Hacker (Los Alamitos), Kevin Baumgarner (Cypress) and Kevin Shaw (Katella). Catchers--Ed Buras (Cypress) and Doug Sipple (El Dorado). Infielders--Dave Moralez (Esperanza), Mark Steinert (Cypress), Bob Gallego (Katella) and Bret Boone (El Dorado). Outfielders--John Gerringer (Cypress), Jeff Repoz (Katella), Darren Okuda (Katella), Andy Escobar (Esperanza) and John Christensen (Kennedy). Utility--Jeff Patterson (Loara).