Dons Keep Baseball Race Tight

Rancho Santiago holds the advantage going into the final week of the Orange Empire Conference baseball race.

But had the Dons played as well against the last two teams in the conference as they did against the rest, the race would be over.

Rancho Santiago (30-8) has a 15-7 conference mark and a 1 1/2-game lead over second-place Orange Coast (23-15, 13-8). Rancho Santiago has two games left and OCC three.

Saddleback (28-11, 13-9) is third, Cypress (26-14, 12-10) fourth, Riverside (25-14, 11-10) fifth, Golden West (12-20, 6-15) sixth and Fullerton (15-23, 5-16) seventh.

Of Rancho Santiago’s seven conference losses, three have come against Fullerton and two against Golden West. Each beat Rancho Santiago last week to tighten the race.

The Dons are off today, then play host to Saddleback at 2:30 p.m. Thursday. They are at Orange Coast at noon Saturday.

“This is not the time to be going in the other direction,” Rancho Santiago Coach Don Sneddon said. “We need to face the next two games trying to eliminate the mental mistakes we have been making.”

Orange Coast plays host to Golden West at 2:30 p.m. today, then plays at Fullerton at 2:30 p.m. Thursday before meeting Rancho Santiago Saturday. If the Pirates win all three games, they are assured of at least a share of the title.

“No one thought we’d be here,” said first-year OCC Coach John Altobelli said. “After losing three in a row two weeks ago, I had my doubts about us, too.”

The top two teams from the conference are assured of playoff spots and the third is almost a sure bet to make the field.

Because of the overall strength of the conference, there is good chance the fourth-place team could get in, too.

This year’s model: Brandon Hoalton, a freshman right-hander, is 10-0 for Rancho Santiago and drawing comparisons to Mike Fontana, who went 11-1 last season for the Dons.

Hoalton has a 2.32 earned-run average in 77 2/3 innings. He has given up 60 hits and 26 walks and has struck out 68. Hoalton is expected to pitch Thursday against Saddleback.

David Vergara of Golden West might be the hottest pitcher in the conference. In his last four games over 35 innings, he has allowed 24 hits, has 33 strikeouts and a 2.06 ERA. He is 4-3 with a 3.41 ERA overall.

Spike: Irvine Valley, in only its second season of competition, can win its first state title this weekend. The Lasers, coached by Tom Pestolesi, take part in the four-team tournament that starts Friday at West Valley College in Saratoga.

Irvine Valley comes in with a 16-1 record and won the Orange Empire Conference with a 15-1 record.

Men’s tennis: Max Alvarez, a sophomore from Saddleback, was the Orange Empire Conference player of the year. Alvarez, from Capistrano Valley High School, was a member of Saddleback’s 1991 State championship team but sat out last season.

He won the conference singles’ title Saturday, beating teammate Erik Berg, 6-3, 6-3, in the final. Alvarez then teamed with Nils Schyllander to win the doubles title.

The all-conference singles players: Alvarez, Berg, Schyllander, Steen Lundblad, Danny Wood and Jason Scanlon of Saddleback, and Joe Spano and Trent Burns of Golden West.

The all-conference doubles players: Schyllander and Alvarez, Wood and Lundblad, Berg and Jeremy Driscoll of Saddleback and Burns and Spano of Golden West.

The Southern California playoffs are Thursday through Saturday this week. The men are at Southwestern College in Chula Vista and the women are at Bakersfield College.

Community College Notes

Saddleback’s baseball team has set team records for victories (25) and hits (428) and still has two games left in the regular season. Justin Drizos, a sophomore from Woodbridge High and Neil Garcia, a sophomore from Foothill, have a chance to set the school’s single-season record for hits. Drizos has 56 and Garcia 55. Steve DeAngelis had 61 in 1983. Garcia already has the single-season record for doubles with 15. He has 24 in two years, leaving him tied with DeAngelis for the top spot.