Briefs: Five Pirates lauded

Orange Coast College sophomores Jack Pabich and Chris Prescott have been named first-team All-Orange Empire Conference in baseball.

Sophomore J.T. McLellan, as well as freshmen J.T. Navarro and Jake Scott represent the Pirates on the second team.

Prescott, a center fielder, hit .350 with one home run and 17 runs batted in. A second-team honoree last season, Prescott scored 23 runs. His nine doubles and five stolen bases tied for the team lead. He has signed to continue his career at Michigan.

Pabich, a right-handed starting pitcher, was 5-2 with a 3.54 earned-run average for the Pirates (18-18, 9-12 in conference), who missed the postseason for the first time since 2006. Bound for Cal State Fullerton, Pabich won four of six decisions in conference play. The 6-foot-4, 200-pounder struck out 61 and walked 15 in 68 2/3 innings for the season and threw two complete games.

Navarro, who played second base and shortstop and hit leadoff most of the season, led the Pirates in batting (.370), hits (47), and runs (28). He had one home run and 17 RBIs, while also chipping in five stolen bases. McLellan, a 6-4, 220-pound first baseman hit .388 with one homer and 14 RBIs in conference play. Overall, he hit .318 with one homer, 21 RBIs, nine doubles and a team-high 18 walks.

Scott, an outfielder, hit .326 with two homers, 16 RBIs and 11 runs.

Sophomore Dillon Persinger (Golden West) was Player of the Year, while Saddleback sophomore Dominique Key was Pitcher of the Year.

Saddleback’s Sommer McCartney was Coach of the Year.

— From staff reports

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OCC’s Gallo shines

Orange Coast College freshman shortstop Taylor Gallo earned first-team All-Orange Empire Conference honors in softball.

Gallo batted .443 in conference play (.425 overall) to lead the Pirates. She led the team with 45 hits, 28 runs and 11 doubles to go along with 16 runs batted in, 11 walks and only three strikeouts in 106 at-bats.

A steady force with the bat, Gallo earned hits in 26 of the 35 games in which she played. Eight times, she had a multi-hit performance, including six three-hit games and a four-for-four performance against Santa Ana on April 1.

OCC finished 10-25, 6-15 in conference.

— From staff reports

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Four ‘Eaters lauded

UC Irvine senior Nico Mertens and sophomore Sebastian Heim have been named first-team All-Big West Conference in men’s tennis for singles.

Seniors Jonathan Poon and Justin Agbayani were named first-team doubles for the Anteaters,

Heim and Mertens were repeat first-team honorees, as were Poon and Agbayani.

Heim was 10-3 in the No. 1 singles spot and had a top ranking of No. 55 in the ITA.

Mertens split time between the No. 1 and No. 2 singles spots, posting an 11-7 dual record, a 3-1 in the Big West. One of the senior’s wins came against Alec Adamson of UC Davis, the 2016 Big West Player of the Year.

Poon and Agbayani played primarily at No. 1 doubles and earned five wins against No. 1 opponents.

Sophomore Luca Marquard and senior Tyler Pham (singles), as well as Pham and senior Jonathan Hammel (doubles) received honorable mention.

UCI finished 17-9.

— From staff reports