By Jimmy Friery
WSC-North Baseball end-of-season awards have been announced, and naturally, the conference champion Vaqueros have plenty of representation.
Sweeping the three most prestigious honors, Daniel Ghiorso was named Player of the Year, Jake Villar, Pitcher of the Year, and Jeff Walker, Coach of the Year. For Walker, it is his 6th time receiving the honor, and the second in consecutive seasons.
Ghiorso, the Vaqueros leadoff hitter, led the conference in stolen bases (32) and won the batting title with a .402 average in conference games. He also led the team with his totals in slugging (.487), total bases (92), extra base hits (17), and runs (50). He walked twice as much as he struck out with 28 walks and 14 Ks. A great defender, too, he won the Gold Glove at second base. The 2024 WSC-North Player of the Year ends his JUCO career with a blistering slash line of .352/.444/.476, good for a .920 OPS.
Southpaw ace Jake Villar won the conference pitching triple crown with a 2.09 ERA, 10-0 record, and 87 strikeouts. He ended the year with 9 consecutive quality starts, including a pair of complete games and an 8.2-inning performance in the conference clincher and two playoff games. A nightmare matchup for left-handed batters, they hit just .143 against him. The cherry on top, he won the Gold Glove, as well.
Speaking of dominant starting pitching, all three of the Vaqueros starters made the WSC-North 1st Team—Villar, Coleton Dahl, and Bradley Johnson. Dahl came back from injury to start 7 games, accumulating a 3.31 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 51.2 innings. A workhorse, he had a stretch of 5 consecutive quality starts towards the end of the year, with the last 4 being 7 or more innings.
Johnson was 2nd on the team in most categories, only behind Villar. The freshman ended his first campaign with a 7-2 record, 2.91 ERA, and electric stuff—more strikeouts (66) than innings pitched (58.2). From February 29 through April 20, the Vaqueros won all 7 of his starts.
Usually guiding the starting staff was backstop Vince Gamberdella, who also made the 1st Team. Very durable, the Santa Barbara High standout appeared in 37 games and was a great hitting catcher, too. He finished top-5 on the team in average, on-base, slugging (.304/.454/.393), RBIs (31), and extra base hits (9).
First baseman Presley Kosciusko and centerfielder Patrick Walsh earned All-WSC-North 2nd Team honors. Kosciusko was 2nd among Vaqueros hitters in average and slugging, and 4th in on-base (.323/.421/.461). The lefty was a huge threat in the heart of the order—usually batting 3rd—leading the team with 3 homers and finishing 2nd in RBIs (36) and extra base hits (16).
Walsh had similar numbers, ending 3rd on the team with 35 RBIs and 14 extra base hits. He was also 3rd in average (.306) and slugging (.416), but swiped 22 bags, only behind Ghiorso's conference-leading 32. A true captain defensively, the Vaqueros centerfielder won the conference Gold Glove.
Rounding out SBCC's honorees were Sebastian Arguelles and Jordan Rico, who both were named Honorable Mention. The shortstop Arguelles was 5th on the team in average and on-base (.303, .388), but he really stood out in run production—his 38 RBIs led the team. His 15 stolen bases were 3rd behind Ghiorso and Walsh.
Rico, the Vaqueros' most durable relief pitcher, logged an even 40 innings across 18 appearances. Nearly as many strikeouts as innings, he punched out 38 batters. In 10 of his outings—more than half of the 18—Walker called on him to cover 2 or more innings.
