Eight Land on WSC All-Conference List for Baseball
SANTA MARIA, Calif. - Eight Allan Hancock College baseball student-athletes collected Western State Conference (North) honors for their play during the 2022 campaign. | FULL LIST
Jacob Steels, Parker Haskell, and Luke Kovach headlined the list of honorees for the Bulldogs after landing on the First Team All-Conference list.
Steels led the way for the program at the plate with an incredible .416 batting average while also boasting a .505 on-base percentage. The Ernest Righetti High School alum was also tops for the program with 45, 22 RBIs, and a .633 slugging percentage during his final season with the Bulldogs. Steels finished the regular season tied for fifth in the state after tallying 69 hits, along with state-level rankings in both triples (2nd | 9) and stolen bases (4th | 27). The centerfielder also picked up a WSC Gold Glove nod after a spotless outfield performance on 90 total chances this season.
Haskell ranked second on the team with a .518 slugging percentage after knocking out a team-high mark of seven homeruns. The designated hitter from El Dorado High School finished the year with 26 RBIs and 22 runs after notching 33 hits.
Kovach was honored as a relief pitcher after collecting six saves on the season, ranking him 14th in the state amongst closing arms throughout the regular season. The Lompoc native also picked up two wins and struck out 63 batters en route to a 3.20 ERA during his freshman debut.
Joey Freitas and Vander Hodges also received postseason honors after being named as Second Team All-Conference honorees.
Freitas finished the season with a .292 batting average and totaled 28 RBIs on 49 hits after leading the team with 168 at-bats. The Mariposa County High School alum also tallied seven stolen bases on the season and finished his sophomore campaign with a .895 fielding percentage.
Hodges, who picked up the honor as a utility player, closed the year with a .294 batting average after recording 35 hits. The Colorado native totaled 10 doubles on the season, leaving him tied for first amongst teammates, while also registering 21 RBIs and 23 runs.
Evan Steinberger, Matthew Gonzales, and Nate Wenzel rounded out the list of honorees after being named as Honorable Mention selections.
Steinberger, who served as the team's primary catcher this season, finished second amongst teammates with a .358 batting average. He totaled 48 hits on the season while recording 23 runs and 31 RBIs. Behind the plate, Steinberger ranks in the Top 25 for fewest stolen bases allowed and managed to catch seven runners attempting to steal.
Gonzales finished the season with five wins and two losses while earning 13 appearances on the bump for the Bulldogs. He sat down 57 batters after tossing 57.2 innings en route to a 4.53 ERA.
Wenzel closed his freshman campaign with an overall record of 5-5 through 14 appearances on the mound. The Washington native struck out finished second on the team with 62 strikeouts while registering a 5.57 ERA after 72.2 innings of work.
The Bulldogs closed the season with an overall record of 21-19 while finishing 11-13 amongst league foes. The team also saw two single season program records fall during the spring. The team totaled 348 strikeouts on the mound, breaking the previous record of 310 that was set in 1971. The Hancock squad also set a new record for triples after notching 20 on the year, breaking the previous record of 17 that was set in 1965.