Vaqueros seeded 13th for Regional, will travel to Mt. SAC for best-of-3

Phil Quartararo makes a catch in left field. (Photo by Ken Sciallo / Sevilla Photography)
Phil Quartararo makes a catch in left field. (Photo by Ken Sciallo / Sevilla Photography)

SBCC was seeded 13th for the 18-team Southern Cal Regional baseball playoffs.

The Vaqueros (20-20), the runner-up in the WSC North, will play a best-of-3 series at No. 4 Mt. San Antonio in Walnut. Game 1 is Friday at 2 p.m., Game 2 is Saturday at 11 a.m. and Game 3 would follow if necessary.

The Vaqueros had to win their final game of the year to earn a playoff berth for the eighth straight season. They downed Ventura 7-5 and got a little help from Cuesta to finish alone in second at 11-9.

Mt. SAC (29-11) won the South Coast Conference North Division with a 17-5 record. The Mounties are led by left fielder Elijah Greene, who's No. 2 in state batting average (.446) with seven homers and 42 RBIs. Shortstop Anthony Walters is batting .377 with 10 homers and 57 RBIs.

The Mounties are sixth in state scoring (10.9 avg.), 11th in batting average (.309) and 12th in ERA (3.48). The games should be high-scoring with the Vaqueros averaging nearly 10 runs (9.96) and hitting .293.

First baseman/pitcher Jake Holton is the Vaquero leader. His .386 batting average is No. 1 in the WSC North and No. 24 in the state. He has six homers and 40 RBIs while leading the state in saves with a school-record 11. He's hit safely in his last 11 games.

Mitch Sancier is hitting .368, Nicholas Prainito is batting .327 and John Jensen is hitting .309 with a 15-game hit streak.