SCC Has Successful Run in the Heartland
Spring break in . . . Missouri?
Not as evocative a setting for revelry as Daytona Beach, perhaps, but the Southern California College baseball team was also on a business trip when it headed for southwestern Missouri last week.
With Springfield as a base, the Vanguards took short trips to Point Lookout to play College of the Ozarks and Joplin to play Missouri Southern State, winning three of their four games.
On successive days, SCC split a doubleheader with Ozarks, beat Southern Missouri, 15-5, and beat Ozarks, 14-8.
Then they took time out for some fun in nearby Branson, a country music mecca.
SCC Coach Charlie Phillips said the players were impressed by the country-music paraphernalia, but that the raves were reserved for the Rawlings outlet store.
“You can get cleats for $15 back there,” Phillips said. “Out here they cost $70.”
The Vanguards (19-15 through Tuesday, 5-5 in the Golden State Athletic Conference) aren’t the most dominating team.
Phillips said about half their games have been decided by one run and the Vanguards have lost the majority of those. SCC has been involved in seven extra-inning games and lost six.
Entering Wednesday’s game with Point Loma Nazarene, only three Vanguards were batting .300 or better--third baseman Albert Contrera (.357), first baseman Ted Wieczorek (.352) and second baseman Corey Harsch (.308)
“We’re just kind of doing it with mirrors.” Phillips said. “Mirrors and Meredith.”
Meredith is Ryan Meredith, a junior from Trabuco Hills High. He is 7-2 with two saves and a 1.42 earned-run average that is among the lowest in NAIA District 3.
SCC is in a tight race for second place in the conference. Westmont is 6-5, Cal Baptist was 5-4 through Tuesday and Point Loma 4-5. At least the top two teams advance to the District 3 playoffs.
The Vanguards have nine conference games remaining, the first five on the road and the final four at home.
Christ College Irvine men’s basketball Coach Greg Marshall won’t be coaching at his alma mater Westmont next season.
Wednesday, Westmont announced the hiring of another alumnus, Fresno Pacific Coach John Moore, as its new basketball coach. Marshall was a finalist.
Moore, who played at Los Alamitos High and Cypress College before helping Westmont to its only NAIA national tournament berth in 1978, started his collegiate coaching career as an assistant at Chapman.
The Chapman baseball team posted a wild victory over UC Riverside Tuesday, scoring 11 runs in the fifth inning and five in the sixth. But the Panthers still needed two runs in the top of the eighth for a 20-18 decision.
Octavio Medina went four for six with six runs batted in and Chris Briones went five for six with four RBIs for Chapman (18-21), which stopped a five-game losing streak.
Chapman had 21 hits off five Riverside pitchers; Riverside had 25 hits off four Panther pitchers.
Notes
The Southern California College softball team is ranked No. 17 in the latest NAIA national poll. . . . The Azusa Pacific baseball team moved up from fifth to fourth this week. North Florida is top ranked; defending champion Lewis-Clark State (Ida.) is No. 2 and St. Thomas (Fla.) is No. 3. Southern California College is among others receiving votes. . . . Chapman’s softball doubleheader with Cal State San Bernardino Tuesday was postponed because of high winds. It will be made up at later date.
