Two of a Kind : Longtime Friends Gonzalez and Ojeda Make Winning Combination for Cypress College

Izzy and Augie.

With names like that, one might expect them to be the latest cartoon duo battling for Saturday morning ratings.

But their true identities are Israel Gonzalez and Augie Ojeda, third baseman and shortstop for Cypress College, which is fighting for a second consecutive Orange Empire Conference championship.

Sophomores and longtime friends, they came to Cypress College in the summer of 1993 from Pius X High in Downey.

Pius X is best known for its basketball teams, so Gonzalez and Ojeda were unnoticed by professional scouts and four-year colleges.

But after helping Cypress win the State championship last season, they are no longer unnoticed.

Gonzalez signed a letter of intend with defending national champion Oklahoma and Ojeda with Tennessee.

“They didn’t come here to be cool,” Cypress Coach Scott Pickler said. “They came here to be good. . . . They are just so appreciative of everything. They work hard every day, never miss practice or are late and are battling in the classroom as well.”

One of the few people who noticed them in high school was then-Cerritos assistant Ron Hauczinger, who had recruited them.

But about a week before classes started in August, 1993, Hauczinger became an assistant at Cypress. Gonzalez and Ojeda followed.

“I knew I just wanted to play for Coach Hauczinger,” Gonzalez said. “So I came (to Cypress). He says pitching and defense win championships and he’s right. He’s helped me out a lot at third.”

Gonzalez played four years of varsity baseball in high school, the first at Bell Gardens. But until last season, he never played on a team that won consistently.

He calls last season at Cypress “a dream.” He hit .357, was an all-conference selection and set a team single-season record with 29 doubles. He also had four home runs and drove in 46 runs.

And with the State championship, he got a ring.

“It was the only ring I ever wanted,” he said. “My mom wanted me to get a school ring but I knew we couldn’t really afford it. I always told her that it was my dream to win a baseball championship. I wear my ring as much as I can.”

Gonzalez spent last summer in Atchison, Kan., playing in the Jayhawk League. He got to compete against collegiate players, most from four-year colleges.

He enjoyed the challenge and is looking forward to playing in Alaska this summer.

But there is a catch.

Gonzalez is carrying 22 units and needs to pass them all to get his two-year degree. Otherwise, he has to attend summer school to be eligible at Oklahoma next season.

The increased school load is also taking its toll on his offense this season. He was down to .280 but has come on in recent games and is up to .297 with seven doubles.

But there are other reasons for his troubles at the plate.

Jason Hodges, who hit 14 home runs hitting behind Gonzalez last season, is now at Long Beach State. So, Gonzalez has found it a lot more difficult getting decent pitches to hit.

That adjustment has caused other problems.

“He hit a few home runs in the Jayhawk League,” Pickler said. “Then he came here and he felt like he had to produce more to carry the team. Last year he was a gap-to-gap hitter and this year he’s trying to pull everything at times.”

Gonzalez, who has been bothered by a sore back which caused him to miss a game, acknowledges the coaching staff’s concerns but offers an explanation.

“Last year I lived in the (batting) cage,” he said. “But with 22 units, I just don’t have as much time as I did to hit. But I’m working on it all I can and I will just have to find a way to get it done.”

Getting it done defensively has never been a problem for Ojeda, who was the most valuable player of the State tournament last June. He won the award mostly for his work in the field.

Ojeda made several impressive plays as Cypress took two games from conference rival Rancho Santiago to win the State title on the last day of the season.

“I’ve never seen anyone have a better day in my life,” Pickler said. “He does with a baseball what Magic Johnson did with a basketball. (Ojeda) has the best instincts of anyone I’ve ever coached.”

Ojeda always has been driven to play baseball and enjoys showing up people who think he is too small (5 feet 7) to be a success in college.

“People always have underestimated me,” he said. “It was always my dream to have a championship ring. This is my life (baseball). I don’t know what I would do without it.”

Ojeda continues to impress with his glove but he has also worked on his hitting. The major change was that Ojeda, naturally right-handed, has become a switch hitter.

He spent last summer in the Cape Cod League, then returned to Cypress in August to learn that Pickler wanted him to start hitting from the left side.

After hitting .294 last season, Ojeda is at .319 this season.

“Actually,” Ojeda said, “I’m more comfortable left-handed now because I hit from that side most of the time.”