The Week Ahead for Hancock Athletics: Softball Hosts Ventura Tuesday, Swimming Welcomes Clovis Thursday, Baseball Opens Conference Schedule
It promises to be another exciting week of competition for Allan Hancock College. The softball team will host a doubleheader Tuesday, March 7, against Ventura. The women's swim team welcomes in Clovis for a dual meet on Thursday, March 9, at the Paul Nelson Aquatic Center. The baseball team opens Western State Conference play this week and hosts Santa Barbara on March 9.
SOFTBALL (2-1, 8-2)
This Week:
Tuesday, March 7 vs. Ventura *, 1 & 3 p.m.
Thursday, March 9 @ Oxnard, 2 p.m.
Friday, March 10 @ Riverside, 5:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 11 @ Mt. San Jacinto, 12 p.m.
After a six-game road trip, the Hancock softball team returns home to host Ventura in a Western State Conference game on Tuesday, March 7. The Pirates and Bulldogs will play a doubleheader with games at 1 and 3 p.m. Hancock starts the week 2-1 in conference and 8-2 overall.
Last week, the Bulldogs won on the road 13-1 in five innings against Santa Monica. Maggie Dasis (Righetti HS) went 2-for-3 drove in three, while shortstop Larrissa Ostrander (Santa Clara HS) and Isabella Partida (St. Joseph HS) had 2 RBI each. Ostrander scored three times and stole three bases. Freshman Hannah Diaz (Pioneer Valley HS) earned her first collegiate win with four innings of work.
Ventura is 2-1 in league and 9-4 overall. The Pirates have won five straight headed into Tuesday's doubleheader. Oxnard is 0-5 in league and 1-11 overall. Riverside begins the week 7-6, while Mt. San Jacinto is 5-6.
Brittany Perez, a sophomore shortstop, leads the Pirates with five home runs, 15 RBI and 16 runs. She is hitting .469. Sophomore outfielder Julianne Abeloe is hitting .488 with 13 RBI and 14 runs scored. The Pirates are hitting .355 as a team and averaging nearly nine runs per game
WOMEN'S SWIMMING & DIVING
This Week:
Thursday, March 9, vs. Clovis, 1 p.m. – Paul Nelson Aquatic Center
Friday, March 10 – Saturday, March 11 @ Cuesta Invitational, 10 a.m.
The Hancock women's swimming and diving team will host its first meet of the season Thursday, March 9, at the Paul Nelson Aquatic Center against Clovis at 1 p.m. The Bulldogs will head to Cuesta Friday and Saturday for the two-day Cuesta Invitational.
Last week, Hancock finished second overall at the first five-team Western State Conference meet of the season. The Bulldogs finished with 92 points, two behind first place Cuesta. The host Ventura Pirates finished third, followed by Citrus and L.A. Pierce. It marked the second time in the program's four-year history, the Bulldogs finished second at a conference meet.
Sophomores Maddie Diaz (Pioneer Valley HS) and Dria Kwong (Orcutt Academy) won two individual events in the meet. Diaz won the 1000 yard freestyle (11:38.67) and the 500 free (5:42.99). She won the 1000 yard event by 27 seconds. Kwong won the 100 yard butterfly (1:01.52) and the 100 yard backstroke (1:03.47). Freshman Meagan Stevens (Cabrillo HS) finished third in the 1000 free (12:12.40). Sophomore Rebecca Gonzalez (Nipomo HS) finished second in the 100 breaststroke (1:13.30). Gonzalez, Diaz, Stevens, and freshman Ellyn Clardy (Righetti HS) teamed up to finish second in the 200 yard medley relay (2:01.21). Diaz, Makena Blanco (Lompoc HS), Shannon Copeland (Clerendon Girls' School) and Brannica Casabar (Advanced Tech Academy) also finished second in the 200 freestyle relay and set a school record in the event (1:53.98).
Last year, more than 450 swimmers from almost two dozen community colleges competed in the 38th Annual Cuesta Swim Invitational. Hancock finished seventh in the team standings. Kwong turned in four top six finishes, including first in the 100 yard individual medley. Diaz had three top five finishes, including third place in the 400 individual medley final. Gonzalez finished fourth in the 50 yard breaststroke final and eighth in the 100 breaststroke event.
BASEBALL (7-10)
This Week:
Tuesday, March 7 @ Santa Barbara * , 2 p.m.
Thursday, March 9 vs. Santa Barbara *, 2 p.m.
Saturday, March 11 @ Oxnard *, 1 p.m.
The Hancock baseball team will look to stay red-hot at the plate as the Bulldogs open Western State Conference play this week. After going 3-1 last week to close out the preseason, the Bulldogs open conference play Tuesday, March 7, at Santa Barbara City College. Hancock will return home to host the Vaqueros on Thursday. Both games with SBCC will start at 2 p.m. The Bulldogs will close the week with a game at Oxnard on Saturday, March 11, at 1 p.m.
Last week, Hancock opened with a 19-2 win at home over West Hills Coalinga, its largest offensive showing in seven years. Twelve Bulldogs had at least one hit, and the team drew a total of 16 walks. Wyatt Standley (Ferndale HS) had two hits in two at-bats. Nash Ackerman (Arroyo Grande HS) drove in a career-high four runs, and third baseman Josh Harmonay (Faith Lutheran HS) had 3 RBI. Kyle von Tillow (Santa Ynez HS) and Brandon Davis (Faith Lutheran HS) each scored three times. Two days later, Hancock erupted for 17 runs in a 17-4 win over Taft. Harmonay went 4-for-5 with 4 RBI, shortstop Quinntin Perez (St. Joseph HS) went 3-for-5 with 4 RBI, and Ackerman had two hits and 3 RBI. Freshman Dylan Maiden (Cabrillo HS) went 1-for-3 with one RBI, and earned his first collegiate win on the mound with three shutout innings of relief. The Bulldogs' lone blemish was a 17-5 loss at the College of the Sequoias Saturday. Hancock bounced back with a 15-5 win at home over Reedley, the No. 2 team in the Northern California Regional Poll. Harmonay had two hits and 4 RBI, Perez had three hits and a career-best 5 RBI. Sophomore Wyatt Coll (Righetti HS) went 3-for-4, while Maiden went 2-for-5 with 2 RBI at the plate and earned his second win with four innings of relief. von Tillow had three hits, and Brian Dowell (Righetti HS) went 2-for-4 with two runs scored.
For the week, Harmonay drove in 10 runs. Perez collected eight hits and 11 RBI, Ackerman drove in eight runs, and Coll had six hits and scored five times. Maiden went 2-0 on the mound and 4-for-10 at the plate.
The Vaqueros finished the preseason 9-7 overall and riding a five-game winning streak. SBCC is 6-0 at home. Jake Holton leads the team with 12 RBI to go with a .281 batting average. Three Vaqueros, John Jensen, Blake Ogburn and Tyler Rosen, have two home runs each. Steven Elliott is 4-0 in seven appearances with a 0.67 ERA. Elliott Reece is 1-0 with 23 strikeouts and a 3.42 ERA in 26 1/3 innings.
TRACK AND FIELD
After a week off from competition, the Hancock track and field team will return to action Friday, March 10, at a meet hosted by Occidental College.
Two weeks ago, Hancock competed at the Western State Conference North Meet at Ventura College. Brent Dionisio (Pioneer Valley HS) cleared a season-best 6 feet, 6.75 inches for a second place finish in the men's high jump. The sophomore finished fifth in the long jump with a mark of 21-5.25. Jose Rodriguez (Cabrillo HS) finished third in the men's high jump after he cleared 14 feet. Freshman thrower Ben Wulfestieg (Cabrillo HS) finished fourth in the men's shot put with a mark of 38-0.25, and fifth in the javelin throw. Sophomore distance runner Steven Youngblood (Pioneer Valley HS) placed fifth in the men's 1,500 with a time of 4:16.79.
Sophomore thrower Taylor Nevitt (Nipomo HS) won the women's shot put event with a top distance of 36 feet, 8.25 inches. She finished third in the hammer throw (105-2), fourth in the discus throw (109-11), and fifth in the javelin (75-7).