COMMUNITY COLLEGE BASEBALL PLAYOFFS : O’Hearn Serves Notice for Rancho Santiago

A cluster of balloons floated to the ground behind second base one day last season during a game at Rancho Santiago College.

As the umpires called timeout, a lanky figure burst from the bullpen, gathered up the balloons and skipped off to the side as some laughed and others looked over the Dons’ roster to identify the player.

Such was life for pitcher Paul O’Hearn last season. He appeared in only four games, going 1-0. He worked 16 2/3 innings, only two in Orange Empire Conference games.

“That’s what I had to do to get noticed,” O’Hearn joked. “It was my only appearance at home all season.”

O’Hearn has had no such troubles this season.

He has increased his visibility greatly with an impressive season. O’Hearn, a right-hander, is 9-0 with a 1.61 earned-run average. He was selected as an all-Orange Empire pitcher this week and earlier this spring signed to attend Arizona State.

But first he would like to help his team win a State title. Rancho Santiago starts play today in the first round of the Southern California Regionals against Long Beach at 2 p.m. in Santa Ana. The best-of-three series continues Saturday at 11 a.m. at Rancho Santiago.

O’Hearn, Jay Hassel and David Goldstein will be the starters for the Dons in this series. Hassel, who was expected to be the ace for Rancho Santiago, has been an inspiration to O’Hearn.

Just before the season started in February, Hassel, who was 6-2 as a freshman, developed a sore right elbow and missed almost two months. O’Hearn stepped in and became the ace of the staff.

“Jay is Mr. Pitcher,” O’Hearn said. “He was the one that had been drafted and was going to San Diego State. When he went out, I knew I had to pick it up a notch.”

O’Hearn has kept the ball where he wants it--low and on the corners of the plate. His primary pitch is his fastball, which he cuts and runs into and away from hitters. He also changes speeds on his curveball, but that’s it.

“He throws strikes,” Rancho Santiago Coach Don Sneddon said. “It’s as simple as that. He keeps the ball down and stays ahead of the hitters.”

O’Hearn has 79 strikeouts and just 29 walks in 89 innings so far this season, but doesn’t see any big changes in himself this season.

“I’m the same guy I was last season,” he said. “The coaches say that I have worked harder, but it seems like I’m doing the things I always did. . . . I knew I could do well, once I got the chance.”

O’Hearn, who is 6 foot 3, was a basketball and baseball standout at Saddleback High School, from which he graduated in 1989.

He was an all-Sea View League basketball player and took part in the Orange County Dunk Contest. He was also a two-time all-Sea View League baseball player as a first baseman.

He planned to go to work out of high school but soon realized that, “making $7 an hour wasn’t going to lead to the kind of life I wanted.”

O’Hearn decided to give Rancho Santiago a try last fall and considered playing basketball and baseball. But he figured he had a better chance to make it in college as a baseball player.

It wasn’t until the Southwestern Tournament in early February that O’Hearn came to love baseball as much as basketball. The turnaround came when the Dons lost the first game of the tournament, then rallied to win three consecutive doubleheaders in the next three days to take the tournament title.

“We had all the kids together after that tournament,” Rancho Santiago pitching coach Jim Reach said. “And we asked them what they learned from it.”

O’Hearn said, “I told them it made me realize how intense games can be. I never liked the game before but now I love it.”

A look at regional games involving Orange County teams:

Long Beach (21-20) at Rancho Santiago (36-9)--Rancho Santiago has already defeated Long Beach three times this season. The last victory came in the Channel Island Tournament in March. Rancho Santiago hit .346 as a team and had eight players with at least 100 at-bats that hit .300 or better. Rancho Santiago led the conference with 42 home runs.

Cuesta (27-14) at Cypress (27-14)--Cypress struggled at times this season, mostly with defense, but there is little question that the Chargers will hit. Cypress batted .322 with 38 home runs. Carlos Castillo (7-2) was the team’s most consistent pitcher, but he comes out of the bullpen. He and starter Robert Legendre (5-4) have to pitch well if the Chargers are to advance.

Fullerton (25-18) at San Diego Mesa (25-12)--Fullerton hopes to take a quick lead in the series behind right-hander Jim Burchit (9-4). He leads the state with 119 strikeouts. Burchit, who has already completed nine games, has orally committed to USC. Tom Wilson led Fullerton with 14 home runs. He is the Fullerton career leader with 25.