Former Pirates pursuing diamond opportunities

A pair of former Orange Coast College baseball standouts have begun professional careers, while some of those from the Pirates’ 2007 squad have settled on futures at four-year colleges.

OCC product Robbie Blauer, a senior first baseman at UC Santa Barbara this past season, was an 18th-round draft pick of the San Diego Padres.

Blauer, who led the Big West Conference with a .398 batting average and led the Gauchos in hits (84), RBIs (43) doubles (17), slugging percentage (.555) and on-base percentage (.480), was the team’s Most Valuable Player and the only player to start all of the Gauchos’ 54 games.

The 2007 first-team All-Big West Conference performer is playing for the Eugene (Ore.) Emeralds in the Class A Northwest League, where he began his career two for 11.

Matt Cline, who along with Blauer helped the 2005 OCC team reach the four-team state tournament in Fresno, was a 22nd-round pick of the Milwaukee Brewers out of Long Beach State.

Cline, a two-year starter at second base for the Dirtbags, hit .312 with 37 runs, 25 RBIs, nine steals and a .408 on-base percentage en route to second-team all-conference recognition in 2007.

He is now playing with the Helena (Mont.) Brewers of the Pioneer (rookie) League, where he began with three hits in his first 13 at-bats.

Eric Oliver, Keith Demorgandie, Ryan Shopshire and Nick Rockowitz are among the list of 2007 sophomores moving on in the collegiate ranks.

Oliver, who hit .354 with a team-leading six homers and 41 RBIs this spring, is headed for UCSB, where he plans to take Blauer’s former job at first base.

Demorgandie, a right-handed pitcher who was 5-5 with a 2.18 earned-run average, is bound for Lewis-Clark State College, an NAIA power in Idaho.

Shopshire (4-2 with a 3.15 ERA) is bound for San Jose State, while Rockowitz, a shortstop who hit .289 with one homer and 26 RBIs, is headed for Biola.

OCC Coach John Altobelli, who guided the Pirates to a 26-21 record and a berth in the Southern California Super Regionals, said pitcher Ryan Eccles (Metro State, Point Loma Nazarene or Azusa Pacific), second baseman Halston Barcelo (the University of San Diego) and catcher Chris Lum (Lewis-Clark State) are others who may continue at the next level.

— Barry Faulkner