Orange Coast’s Folsom Saves His Best for Last

Greg Folsom hasn’t had a problem finishing a baseball season on a positive note at Orange Coast.

It’s getting off to a smooth start that has given him trouble.

He sat out his first year at OCC, was injured early last season, and was platooned at third base this spring.

But Folsom, 20, has been playing full-time for the last two months for OCC (30-20), which starts play Saturday in the State tournament at Sacramento City against the host Panthers (30-4) at 3 p.m.

At the outset of this season, Folsom, a left-handed hitter, and Ben Strack, a right-handed hitter, were splitting time at third base for first-year Coach John Altobelli, who replaced Mike Mayne. But as the season progressed, Folsom, from Orange High School, continued to emerge as the favorite.

“It was really tough,” Folsom said about being platooned. “At that point I knew was going to have to work harder and not stay lazy.”

Folsom is hitting .364 (47 for 129) with six doubles, four triples, three home runs and has driven in 38 runs.

He was at his best last weekend when OCC rallied from losing the first game to win four in a row in two days to earn a berth in the State tournament.

Folsom was 10 for 21, scored six runs and drove in nine the five games. He had two home runs and a triple among his 10 hits.

“I’m feeling a lot more comfortable at the plate than earlier,” he said. “I just know I’m going to hit the ball.”

Folsom came to OCC in the fall of 1990 and interim Coach Scott Groot encouraged him to take a season off and work on getting stronger. He added 25 pounds by working out mostly with free weights to increase his weight to 185 pounds. He attended classes in the fall at OCC, then was an assistant coach at Orange High School in the spring.

Folsom was a third baseman and shortstop growing up but was moved to left field to start last season. But, before the first weekend was over, he crashed into a fence during a game against Cypress in the College of the Desert Tournament. He missed most of the next month with a broken right hand.

“I hoped it was just sprained,” Folsom said. “But after I picked up the ball and threw it in, this big, old bump was sticking out of my hand . . . I like it better in the infield. There are less things to run into.”

Folsom returned from the injury and got back in the lineup.

By the end of the season, he was one of the best hitters in the conference. He batting .466 (41 for 88), scored 25 runs and drove in 31 for the season.

Tournament Notes

OCC is joined in the tournament by Rancho Santiago, the Orange Empire Conference champion. This is the first time two teams from Orange County have reached the tournament in the same season. Rancho Santiago (38-9) plays Laney (37-10) at 11 a.m. in the other first-round game. The first-round winners play at 11 a.m. Sunday at Sacramento City and the losers play at 10 a.m. at American River College. The title game is at 11 a.m. Monday. . . OCC set a record for errors this season with 131 but made only five in five games in winning the regional at Los Angeles Harbor last weekend. Paul McDaniels was eight for 19 in the regional to raise his batting average to a team-best .382. He also leads in stolen bases with 18. Jason Parsons continues to be the Pirates’ most productive hitter. He is batting .368 with 15 doubles, seven home runs and 52 RBIs. Justin Halper had two home runs in the regional to raise his total to six. OCC hit .310 as a team.

The pitching remains the question for the Pirates; freshman starter Kyle Wilson (6-7) has an injured finger and is doubtful. Phil Jensen is 8-1 with a 4.80 earned-run average, which isn’t too bad considering the team’s is 5.66. Darin Dabalack (5-6) was impressive in the regional as well.