Bulldogs Ready to Face No.1 Orange Coast in Super Regionals

Relishing in the role as the underdog, the Allan Hancock College baseball teams heads to No.1 seed Oxnard to open a Super Regionals best-of-three-game series on Friday, May 9. First pitch in Costa Mesa will be at 2 p.m.

"Making a run in the postseason was one of the goals we set way back in January," said head coach Chris Stevens. "We embrace being the underdog and know we have a lot of solid baseball left to play."

The Bulldogs (24-14-1), who were seeded 13, upset No.4 Palomar last weekend in the first round by taking two games on Saturday to earn their first appearance in the Super Regionals since 2010. Left-hander Henry Fienga earned both victories with 5 1/3 shutout innings of hitless relief. Now, the Bulldogs have their sights set on the top seed.

"Winning twice in one day has really given us a boost in confidence," said Fienga, a Cabrillo High School graduate, who threw five hitless innings in the series clincher last week. "We are not overconfident by any means, but we believe in ourselves and each other more than ever before."

In the decisive third game, the Bulldogs collected 14 hits, including Cameron Ketchen's first four-hit effort of the season, as well as three base hits from both catcher Ryan Welker and third baseman Ryan Bendele. Sophomore right-hander Ryan Bower started the opener and went eight solid innings, allowing just four hits and two runs. Bower is slated to pitch the second game of the series on Saturday at 12 p.m. A third game, if necessary, will take place at noon on Sunday.

Players and coaches credit the team's camaraderie and sophomore leadership for contributing to the Bulldogs' success. "A lot of us have been working to get this point together for years," added Bower, a Lompoc High School graduate, who leads the team with seven wins and 72 strikeouts over 86 2/3 innings pitched. "I know we have some wins and some magic left in us."

Orange Coast (29-9), winners of eight in a row, beat El Camino in two games last week. The Pirates eliminated the Bulldogs from the first round in 2011. Orange Coast has won four state titles, most recently in 2009. The Pirates and Bulldogs played four common opponents in 2014 in Palomar, Cuesta, Cypress and Fullerton. Hancock won seven of the 10 meetings, while Orange Coast went 8-3.

"Orange Coast is as solid as they come. Every team, at this point of the season, is going to have very few weaknesses," added Stevens. "But at the same time, we feel we have a lot of weapons, too, for Orange Coast to consider."

Orange Coast is hitting .311 as a team, led by freshman outfielder Tommy Bell, who is hitting .425, which ranks third in the state. Bell owns a .497 on-base percentage and 36 RBI. Chris Iriart is tied for the state-lead with eight home runs. The pitching staff owns a team ERA of 1.85. Twin brothers David and Jacob Hill are a combined 19-1. David, a right-hander, is 9-1 with three complete games and a 1.22 ERA. He has struck out 97 and walked just 13 in 95 2/3 innings. Jacob, a left-hander, is 10-0 with a 1.33 ERA over 61 innings. Freshman Art Vidro is 5-3 with a 2.72 ERA.

The four winners in the Southern Regional advance to Sectionals, where the two highest remaining seeds will host two-out-of-three game series that open Friday, May 16.