Jeff Walker has his SBCC baseball team streaking into the postseason for the ninth straight year.
The Vaqueros have won eight in a row, including two victories against Moorpark last week, to earn a share of the Western State Conference North Division title, their fifth title in nine years. Their ninth playoff appearance in a row is the longest streak in Southern California.
SBCC’s playoff opponent will be Glendale, which also has the nickname Vaqueros.
“They’re the Vaqueros, we’re the Vaqueros, so there’s all kinds of Vaqueros going on,” cracked Walker at Monday’s Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table press luncheon at Harry’s Plaza Cafe.
The teams will play a best-of-three series in the Southern California Regionals starting Friday at Glendale.
“My money is on the Vaqueros,” said Walker. “Hopefully, it’s the right Vaqueros.
Here’s what the coaches had to say about the athletes they brought to the final press luncheon of the school year.
SBCC Baseball
Walker on freshman Toby Spach from Carpinteria: “He was a catcher and now is a pitcher. He’s thrown 91-93 mph and hit 95, so that’s something cool.”
On sophomore Ian Churchill: “He was the conference pitcher of the year. We’ve had past MVPs: Steve Reveles (Dos Pueblos), John Jensen (Santa Barbara) and now Ian Churchill (San Marcos). We got all the schools that represented DP, San Marcos and Santa Barbara High.”
Santa Barbara High Volleyball
Coach Chad Arneson on sophomore outside hitter Andrew Douglas: “I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do for us the next couple of years. He has a 4.4 GPA.
On junior middle Will Goligoski: “He might be small in stature but he’s quick on his feet and gets the job done.”
On setter Caden Westwick: “Great attitude on and off the court. Caden has been our third-string setter and defensive specialist. He was on CNN News. The kid lost his house during (Montecito) mudslides and helped out with the bucket brigade.”
Arneson called the players “three of my most valuable players who have helped keep this team competitive.”
San Marcos Boys Volleyball
Coach Roger Kuntz on junior opposite Tyler Curt: “Tyler has finished the season really strong the last two weeks. He had some key moments. In Game 5 against Oak Park was his best game of the year, where he had 3-4 kills and some stuff blocks at some key times to help us win that match.”
On sophomore middle Cade McLean: “Cade moved into our starting middle hitting role and he’s led our team all year in hitting percentages and blocks. And we’ve got some really good blockers, so for him to take the lead as a sophomore really speaks to his athleticism and not necessarily to his coaching.”
On junior outside hitter and captain Toby Still: “He’s really a converted setter. He’s really one of the best setters in the area, but we were a little thin on the outside and he stepped in at OH 1 and led our team on the outside all year long. He’s one of our best passers and best blockers.”
Santa Barbara High Baseball
Coach Steve Schuck on senior pitcher Derek True: “He’s our big horse on the mound. It was really awesome to see Derek throw three innings (on Senior Day against Cabrillo). He stepped aside to get another senior pitcher in there. I really appreciate that and his teammates appreciate that.”
On junior shortstop Nick Oakley: “He leads the team in stolen bases with 22. He’s second on the team in batting average at .375 and his on-base percentage is .500. He leads off for us and, when he gets on, crazy, fun stuff happens. He makes our offense really efficient.”
Bishop Diego Baseball
Coach Nick Katzenstein on the four seniors he called “the heart and soul of our team.”
On catcher Jake Koeper: To sit behind the plate and do what he did for his career was great. He’s our ironman and we’re certainly going to miss him next year.”
On pitcher Gabe Arteaga: “The ace of our staff. Another guy who is going to be very tough to replace. He definitely put us in every game game and led us on the mound.”
On Dominic Tuttle: “This guy outworks everybody on our team. He hustles. ‘Dominic, if anything, you’ve definitely left a work ethic like none other.’ We appreciate that.”
On infielder Alec Robbins: “He’s kind of speed challenged, but he had a big hit against St. Bonaventure. I decided to put a steal on and he took off on the pitch and Jake Koeper hit a double over the center fielder’s head. Alec is wheeling and I’m wheeling him around third base. He hit the edge of the plate and dove in, and it was really big and a huge thing for our team. I’ll remember that forever.”
San Marcos Baseball
Coach Jacob Pepper on junior Jacob Galindo: “He’s one of those guys who is always energy. He is guy who eats, drinks and sleeps baseball no matter what, and has a ton of fun doing it. He’s one of most natural defenders I’ve ever seen.”
Luncheon Notes
San Marcos assistant softball coach Emily Dietz said the Royals are underdogs going into their Division 3 playoff opener at Village Christian on Thursday.
“We’re the underdog, but we were the underdogs before and made it to two CIF (Division 4) championships the last two years. We’ll see what we can do.”
UCSB baseball assistant Dylan Jones said the 32-7 Gauchos lost their first series of the season at UC Riverside but they are still ranked in the top 20 in all the major polls.
“We’re looking to make a strong push the rest of the way,” he said.
Gene Deering ran the final luncheon of his two-year stint as SBART president. Ken Newendorp will serve as president the next two years.
The SBART’s Evening With The Athletes event is on Wednesday, May 8 at the Majorie Luke Theater at Santa Barbara Junior High. A reception is at 5:30 p.m. and the awards ceremony begins at 6 p.m. The event is free.
The awards that will be presented include the Athletes of the Year in each high school and college sport, High School Coach of the Year and College Coach of the Year, Phil Womble Memorial Scholarship, Jim Santa Memorial Scholarship, Larry Crandell Memorial Scholarship and Russ Morrison Memorial Scholarship.
The community awards include Russ Hargreaves Memorial Award and R.F. McFarland Memorial Trophy.
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