Story by: Aiden Eisel, Sports Editor | Photo Courtesy of Cypress Charger Athletics
The Cypress Chargers baseball team advanced to the Regionals Finals in the SoCal Regionals tournament after beating Fullerton and Grossmont College in the Super Regionals. They are now two wins away from advancing to the State Championships.
The team’s offense played a huge factor in the wins; they beat Grossmont 11-9 and then swept a three-game series against Fullerton, 20-7 and 19-11.
The Chargers are one step closer to competing for the State Championship and will now face off against Palomar College in a three-game series to see who will punch their ticket to the State Championships.
Regarding the team’s success so far in the season, head coach Anthony Hutting said, “The work that the players put in, and working hard and trying to get better every day…it helps us get to where we want to be.”
Hutting credited experience as the main reason this year’s team is better than last year’s, stating, “we just have more experience, and our pitching’s been a lot better this year compared to last year…we were pretty young on the pitching side last year.”
“Thinking of the overall camaraderie of this team, I think we have a really close group of guys who really enjoy being around each other.”
The Chargers led the Orange Empire Conference in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and runs scored after finishing first in the conference with a 17-4 record and going 36-9 overall, and were champions of the Orange Empire Conference.
The Chargers had seven players earn awards this season, and sophomore pitchers Tommy McGuire, Jayson Thomas, and Brandon Wyland were named to the All-Conference team. Sophomore outfielder Evan Rolbiecki won the OEC Conference Player of the Year. Freshman first-baseman Justin Tillar, freshman outfielder Dustin Robinson, and sophomore designated hitter Bradley Navarro earned first-team All-Conference Honors this season. Sophomore infielder Luke Matlock and freshman infielder Braden Ruiz earned second-team All-Conference Honors this year. Head Coach Anthony Hutting took home the OEC Coach of the Year Award.
The Chargers are two wins away from advancing to the State Championships and will face Palomar this weekend. Their first game is on Friday, May 16 at 2:00 p.m., game two is on Saturday, May 17 at 1:00 p.m., and a potential game three on Sunday, May 18 at 12:00 p.m. at Cypress.
To learn more about Cypress College baseball, check out the Cypress College Athletics Website.
