Talent Abounds on Dons’ Mound : Rancho Santiago’s Pitching Complements Its Hitting

Although the feats of the Rancho Santiago College hitters have been talked about all season, hardly a whisper has been uttered about the pitchers.

Anyone who follows community college baseball has heard of Bobby Hamelin and his .509 batting average, 29 home runs and 98 runs batted in. Rancho Santiago, the Orange Empire Conference champion, is hitting .371 with a team-record 57 home runs. The Dons averaged 11 runs a game and never scored fewer than 5.

With all those numbers, it’s not hard to understand how the pitching staff might be overlooked. But on the team, the staff is regarded very highly.

“One through seven, this is the best staff I’ve ever had,” Don Sneddon, Rancho Santiago coach, said. “We don’t have a really dominating pitcher like we’ve had in the past, but from top to bottom, this is the deepest staff we’ve had here.”

Rancho Santiago’s pitching staff begins its final test of the season today when the Dons (37-7) play De Anza (35-14) at 7:30 p.m. in the first round of the double-elimination state tournament at UC Irvine. Cerritos (37-11) plays Sacramento City (42-9) at 2 p.m. in the other first-round game.

Rancho Santiago’s staff came up with three solid performances in a row last weekend in the Southern California Regional at Rancho Santiago.

Jack Bailey (7-3), a freshman right-hander, threw a 7-hitter and beat Oxnard, 6-5, in the opening game Friday.

Willie Navarrette (10-0) allowed 7 hits and 3 runs in 7 innings but needed relief help from Brett Snyder in an 11-3 victory over Los Angeles Harbor Saturday.

And David Tellers (11-1), a sophomore right-hander, threw a 7-hitter and blanked Palomar, 9-0, Sunday.

“They picked a good time to all pitch well,” Ron La Ruffa, Rancho Santiago pitching coach, said. “The thing that has been toughest for this staff to adjust to is pitching with a big lead. Sometimes our pitchers get lazy and things happen that would never happen if the score was closer.”

Here’s a look at the staff:

Tellers’ best pitch is his split-fingered fastball, which he learned while playing for Rancho Santiago’s summer league team in 1986. But Tellers, the No. 1 starter, also throws a slider and changeup.

“I don’t mind Coach calling me the ace,” Tellers, who was 10-2 last season, said. “I think he does it in an effort to get me more pumped up for the big games and uses it as a confidence booster.

“I’m more relaxed this season. . . . With our offense, you know we are going to score some runs. You know that even if you are not at your best, you can give up a few runs and still win.”

Tellers, a graduate of Western High School, has signed to attend San Jose State this fall.

Navarrette, who relies on a fastball and curve, came to Rancho Santiago from Norte Vista High School in Riverside, where he was 46-7 in 3 seasons and completed every game he started.

“I don’t mind coming out of games,” Navarrette said. “My goal is just to help the team as best I can, but I still want to finish every game I start.”

Bailey was an All-South Coast League player at Mission Viejo before he came to Rancho Santiago.

He has given up a team-high 11 home runs, but he was the pitcher Sneddon turned to in the first game of the regional and could start today against De Anza. Bailey throws a good fastball and slider.

“He’s done the things we’ve asked him to do all season,” Sneddon said. “He keeps us in the game and doesn’t walk too many hitters. For a freshman, he’s done a good job.”

Tim MacNeil (5-1), a sophomore right-hander, spent part of the season in the shadows of the top three starters. MacNeil, the hardest thrower on the staff, was a reliever last season but became a starter last summer and winter. He has primarily been a reliever this season, though if the state tournament goes to four games, he would probably start in the fourth.

Just as the season began in February, he was bothered by a sore right elbow and Bailey took his place in the rotation.

“I can’t complain about the way the season has worked out,” he said. “I didn’t expect to be a reliever, but it has worked out. The other guys did the job all season, so there was never really a chance for me to be a starter, but I accepted my role and tried to help the team.”

MacNeil has signed a scholarship to attend Miami next season and is also expected to be picked in the June draft.

There is plenty of talent in the rest of the staff also. Snyder (2-1, 1 save) and Brian Snoddy (1-0, 2 saves) are the right-handed relievers, and Steve Watson (1-1, 2 saves) is the left-hander.

State Tournament Notes

The double-elimination tournament continues Saturday with the first-round losers meeting at 11 a.m. and the winners at 3 p.m. The winner of the 11 a.m. game and the loser of the 3 p.m. meet at 7 p.m. The winner of the 7 p.m. game advances to the championship at noon Sunday. . . . The Cerritos/Sacramento City game is a rematch of last season’s state championship game. Cerritos swept Sacramento City, 5-2, 5-1, to take the title, its second in the last three years and eighth in the history of the college. No team from the north has won the state title since Diablo Valley in 1977. . . . Jeff Herman hit 16 home runs and had 55 RBIs to lead De Anza. . . . Tim MacNeil found a new way to benefit from the awesome season Bobby Hamelin had. While University of Miami scouts were watching Hamelin in April, they spotted MacNeil and gave him a scholarship.

RANCHO SANTIAGO’S TOP PITCHERS

NAME W-L ERA G SV IP H BB SO David Tellers 11-1 3.77 14 0 93 109 21 54 Willie Navarrette 10-0 3.73 14 0 98 98 26 55 Jack Bailey 7-3 6.07 14 1 80 105 15 55 Tim MacNeil 5-1 3.64 13 1 47 41 26 34