Spring Sports Halted: Baseball 2nd Half Surge Prevented In Shortened 2020 Season
The opportunities to move up the South Coast Conference standings were there for the Pasadena City College baseball team. But after 21 overall games and just nine of the alotted 24 SCC games played, the Lancers saw their 2020 season end abruptly in early March due to the worldwide health crisis.
April 24, 2020
The opportunities to move up the South Coast Conference standings were there for the Pasadena City College baseball team. But after 21 overall games and just nine of the alotted 24 SCC games played, the Lancers saw their 2020 season end abruptly in early March due to the worldwide health crisis.
Under the direction of head coach Pat McGee, who had coached the Lancers to SCC titles in both 2017 and 2019, PCC was *10-11 overall and 4-5 in conference play. McGee felt his team had yet to show its potential and were just starting to look like the type of squad that might have continued the program's streak of three consecutive years making it to the Southern California Regional Playoffs (2017-2019).
"I don't believe our record was an accurate reflection of this team, its progress and the advantageous position it held as we entered the second half stretch," McGee said. "Historically we have been a team that plays it best baseball in the second half of the season."
He discussed the development process that occurs especially for incoming freshmen as they transition to the next level.
"The guys establish a level of comfort, a familiarity of expectations if you will and develop an understanding of exactly how good they can be when they are entirely committed and coachable. There is a clear and formidable transition to the community college level for baseball players. The reality is fewer and fewer high school players are prepared to make the collegiate jump. When they do get here, they are shocked by the level of competition they face and often overwhelmed by the commitment and work ethic it requires to maintain, let alone surpass any level of success they had in high school. As a result, the experience these young men gain in the first half of the season is immeasurable.
"How much they learn, grow and persevere during this time has always been the determining factor for how the season turns out. To put it simply, we will be better today than we were yesterday! This 2020 team truly reflected that mentality and were proving that on the field via process and results. I absolutely believe this group of young men were on the verge of a great finish."
The Lancers were a tough one to beat at their off-campus, home diamond--Brookside Park's Jackie Robinson Field. PCC had won seven of its last eight games on its home field and had nine more home games slated. In all, Pasadena's last 19 regular season games (15 in conference) were cancelled when the CCCAA ultimately made the decision to end the Spring athletics season for all sports last month.
While Pasadena's team prospects were dashed, so were some big individual seasons cut down in their tracks. Sophomore third baseman Marco Martinez, an All-American as a freshman, was on target to reach those honors again and was a SCC MVP candidate when the season saw its unofficial end date on March 12. Martinez led the SCC in five hitting categories (including RBI with 22), led the state in on-base percentage (.574), and was tied for third in the state in walks with 25. His .388 batting average was second in the conference.
A top freshman is left-handed designated hitter Thomas Kolling, whose 30 overall hits led the SCC, his 20 RBI was tied for second in that category, and his .366 batting average was tied for fifth. Another newcomer making his mark is rightfielder Tai Walton (.282, 12 RBI), who was tied for the SCC lead in triples with three and was batting .378 in nine conference-only games. Sophomore transfer shortstop Jacob Ogle was steady with a .280 average, 11 RBI and a team-high eight stolen bases.
Of the pitchers, second-year reliever Benny Torres was second in the conference in ERA (1.25) to go with two wins and a save. Starting hurlers Cody Crowder, a sophomore, and Ryan Graves, a freshman, are a solid 1-2 combo at the front of the Lancers rotation. Crowder held a 3-2 record and 3.89 ERA in a team-high 39.1 innings while Graves was 2-1 with a sparkling 2.76 ERA in 29.1 innings.
Lancer outfielder Gabe Arellano will be an eligible sophomore as an early signee to Chico State
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McGee updated the landscape of what may occur with the future of both freshmen and sophomores for the 2021 season with the health shutdown now into its seventh week.
"It is still very early in the process of transition, recruiting and determining exactly how these rulings by all of our organizations from the NCAA down to the CCCAA will impact the game next year. At the university level, so many programs are unsure of what lies ahead in regards to their roster size, scholarship allotment, graduation, draft and exactly who will choose to return to their teams for another season. This naturally impacts all of our guys and who potentially transfers, who returns and ultimately who we choose to add to the roster.
He was pleased with the announcement that all players would receive an extra year of eligibility.
"Obviously I am a huge fan of the decision to grant the Spring Sport participants an additional year. It was the right thing to do and unfortunately that can get lost in the decision-making process. We are all grateful for the opportunities that lie ahead. Its potentially the best of both worlds for the members of our team. If a 4-year opportunity of their liking opens up, they can take it. However, should the perceived to be roster logjam at the next level come to fruition, they can return to PCC and improve upon their resume that they have been building both in the classroom and on the field."
One player whose 2020 season will be his last at PCC is centerfielder Gabe Arellano, an All-American last year as well as both the SCC North Division MVP and 2018-2019 PCC Men's Athlete of the Year for all sports. Arellano had already committed to Chico State University for the 2021 season. He was second on the team in runs scored (21) and walks (15), and third on the Lancers in RBI with 15 when the season stopped. Arellano finishes his Lancers run with 94 hits in just 61 games, 46 RBI and a .343 overall batting average.
McGee said: "These are clearly unprecedented times. It's critical that we operate with a degree of empathy and compassion for what is going on in the world and that should absolutely include a do-over for these young men and women in all sports who have searched out education and athletics to better their lives and those around them."
For the first time in the program's history, there would be no Lancers baseball games played in April, and for the first time since 2016, no chance to make a postseason playoff run.
*Note--All PCC Springs sports teams official win-loss records and individual/team statistics count with no conference, state champions or standings places.
Sophomore reliever Benny Torres was having a banner 2020 season when the games stopped.