Altobelli guides young Bucs

Bryce Alderton

Orange Coast College baseball coach John Altobelli didn’t hesitate

when asked to give an impression of the upcoming season.

“We’re very young and that is the question mark,” said Altobelli,

entering his 11th season at the helm of the Pirates, as he sat in the

dugout at Orange Coast last week after practice.

The Pirates, coming off a 32-13 season that saw them lose in the

second round of the Southern California Regionals to eventual

state-champion Riverside, return only one position player from last

year’s team in first baseman Kyle Stanley. But three starting

pitchers are back.

Altobelli’s No. 1 starter will be sophomore left-hander Kyle

Allen, who went 3-0 with a 3.25 ERA in 32 1/3 innings, striking out

29 and walking just 10. Right-handed sophomore Garrett Murdy

(6-foot-4) will be the No. 2 starter. He posted a 2.91 ERA in 21 2/3

innings, striking out 20. Jimmy Treece will follow Murdy in the

rotation. He was 1-0 in 22 innings last season.

“Our strongest area is starting pitching,” Altobelli said. “We

have three quality starters who should have a good year for us.”

Altobelli’s other pitching options include freshman left-hander

Jason Crissman out of Los Alamitos High, Bryan Johnson out of

Milwaukee, freshman right-hander Tucker Boyd from Orange High,

Estancia High-product Jordan Hart, a 6-5 southpaw, and freshman

right-hander Mike Farias out of Sonora.

“(Hart) is a lanky kid but he locates his fastball and keeps the

ball down,” Altobelli said. “We call (Johnson) the ‘Little Unit.’ He

works different angles and if he can keep the ball down he will be

successful.”

Freshmen Bryan Jacksont, Brad Miller (the starter at third base)

and Derik Easttom, as well as Chris Bullock, could close games.

Sophomore John Grant, a transfer from Allan Hancock College, will

start behind the plate, while Stanley anchors first base and will be

the No. 3-hitter.

Freshman Ben Hanna out of Villa Park High gets the starting nod at

second and will hit leadoff.

Shortstop is a “coin-toss,” according to Altobelli, between

freshman Manny Pedroza from Santa Ana High and Bullock, out of Los

Alamitos. They will attempt to fill the sizable shoes left by OCC’s

Male Athlete of the Year, Donnie Murphy, who led the Pirates in hits

(84), runs (55), home runs (13), RBIs (48), total bases (146) and

batting average (.422) last season. The first-team All-Orange Empire

Conference selection and fifth-round draft pick, signed with the

Kansas City Royals.

Miller figures to add pop to the offense, Altobelli said.

Switch-hitter Derek Aspinwall, the starting quarterback for the

Bucs in the fall, will add depth at second and third.

Sophomore cleanup hitter Ryan Mathes will start in left field,

next to Easttom in center.

“(Easttom) has a nice swing and is a gap-hitter with occasional

power,” Altobelli said.

Returner Greg Benoit, who hit .353 in 51 at-bats last year, and

freshman Jeff Piaskowski, will battle for the starting spot in right

field.

“We’re not a power-hitting team like last year,” Altobelli said.

“We’re going to have to manufacture runs.”

Last season, OCC hit a school-record 61 home runs, 50 more than

its 2001 total.

Altobelli said last year’s team was one of the better squads in

his tenure. Of the 12 sophomores, 11 received scholarships, including

Scott Beerer, now at Texas A&M.; Beerer went 6-4 with a 4.06 ERA and

batted .336 with four home runs and 29 RBIs.

This year will be more of a challenge, according to Altobelli, who

said Riverside, is the favorite to win the OEC again, followed by

Cypress, Santa Ana and Saddleback, then a group that includes OCC.

“Winning three state titles in a row, (Riverside) should be the

favorite,” he said.

Assisting Altobelli will be Joe Ronquillo (catchers), Josh

Belvosky (pitching), who played for Altobelli five years ago and was

the Cypress pitching coach last season, Doug Keith (infielders),

Scott Spokgnky (outfield) and Jim Skelton, the team’s sports

psychologist and “mental guru,” according to Altobelli.

“We’ve always had (Skelton) around, now he’s learned more about

the game,” Altobelli said.

Orange Coast opens the season Friday at 10 a.m. against visiting

Santa Barbara in the Matt O’Brien Memorial Tournament, named for the

former Pirate pitcher who died in a motorcycle accident in 1999.