Garcia’s Position Changes, but Bat Remains the Same

The transition from high school to college baseball has been more difficult for Neil Garcia of Saddleback than most freshmen.

He’s already changed colleges, positions (twice) and had to overcome an injury, all before he completed his first season.

But the one thing that’s remained consistent through it all is his hitting. Garcia, a switch-hitter, bats second for the Gauchos. He’s hitting .333 (46 for 138) with nine doubles, two home runs and 22 runs batted in. He has also been hit 10 times.

Garcia came to Saddleback from Foothill High School, where he was an All-Century League pick and selected to the Orange County All-Star game.

But being a Gaucho wasn’t his original plan. He had figured to go to Cypress, but about a month before classes started, things changed.

It looked as if Garcia might not get as much playing time at catcher at Cypress as he originally thought, so he enrolled at Saddleback instead.

He hoped to earn the starting catching job with a strong performance in fall practice, but Garcia’s plan took a bad hop.

In a fall game, he separated his right shoulder while diving into first base to beat out a bunt.

He was out two months, but once he regained his health, Garcia was too far behind Nathan Malagon to win the starting job. Malagon has gone on to have an outstanding year, hitting .393 (53 for 135) with six home runs and 29 RBIs.

But Garcia’s offensive skills were enough that Saddleback Coach Jack Hodges felt he had to be a starter. Garcia started the season in center field but struggled some defensively. After a few games, he switched to third base, where he has been since.

“When you’re catching, you always have something to think about,” Garcia said. “In the field, I think too much about hitting and what I did wrong. . . . I have a lot of plans for next year. I don’t want to even talk about them. I just can’t wait to start working on them.”

Men’s volleyball: Orange Coast, the three-time defending state champion, and Irvine Valley, a program in its first year, tied for the South Coast Conference title.

The teams split in head-to-head competition, but OCC won its match in fewer games, so the Pirates got the conference’s No. 1 seed into the state playoffs Friday and Saturday at Palomar.

Irvine Valley moves into the Southern California Regional playoffs at 1 p.m. today against El Camino at L.A. Pierce. Grossmont plays Pierce in the other match at 10 a.m., and the winners play at 7:30 p.m. for the final berth in the four-team state tournament.

Community College Notes

Ray Ankton, a guard from Saddleback who was the co-most valuable player of the Orange Empire Conference, is going to Fairleigh Dickinson. Ankton averaged 17 points and five rebounds. Bob Terry, an All-Orange Empire Conference first-team pick for the Fullerton basketball team, will play at Azusa Pacific next season. Stacey Giem, a point guard from Orange Coast, is going to Christ College Irvine. Giem set the OCC career record for assists with 328. . . . Todd Blyleven (7-4) and Chad Troxel (2-2), both right-handers at Cypress, announced their college plans. Blyleven is going to Fresno State and Troxel to Tennessee.. . . Two members of the Fullerton softball team--catcher Kim Fritts and infielder Frances Garcia--are moving on as well. Fritts is going to Las Vegas and Garcia to Cal State Bakersfield.