Jake Holton, an infielder/relief pitcher for SBCC, has accepted a scholarship to play for Creighton University in Omaha, Neb. David Appleby, a relief pitcher on the baseball team the last two years, will be attending the University of Michigan.
Holton, a 6-foot sophomore from Los Gatos, Calif., played first base, third base and was the ace relief pitcher for the Vaqueros, who went 20-22 and won their final regular-season game to finish second in the WSC North and earn their eighth straight postseason appearance. In 42 games, he hit .386 and led the team in homers (6), RBIs (41), hits (59), on-base percentage (.465) and slugging percentage (.588).
An All-Southern Cal and first-team All-WSC North pick, Holton was the closer for the Vaqueros and led the state with a school-record 11 saves.
Holton and Appleby are two of 11 Vaqueros who will continue their careers at four-year schools. Appleby had a 5.40 ERA and one save in 15 appearances during the 2018 campaign.
John Jensen, a two-time all-conference choice and the 2017 WSC North MVP, previously signed with UC Irvine. The former Santa Barbara High standout hit safely in his last 17 games and batted .306 with four homers and 37 RBIs.
Other Vaquero recruits are pitcher Brett Vansant, second baseman Shane Hersh (who led the team with a .390 average in an injury-shortened half-season) and outfielder Reinhard Lautz, who are all going to Concordia Irvine. Pitcher Steven Elliott is heading to Point Loma in San Diego, catcher Mitch Sancier is going to San Francisco State, pitcher Kyle Basch will play for Cal State East Bay, pitcher Ryan Ward is heading to Cal State Monterey Bay and pitcher Robert Wood is going to Kansas State.
