Allan Hancock College and post-season baseball are two phrases that haven’t been heard together for some time—six years, to be exact.
But this year’s Bulldogs have a bite that’s worse than their bark, and on a club without superstars, the name of the game is teamwork.
“This team has no one standout player, but they do get the team concept,” said Head Coach Chris Stevens. “They understand that we don’t have four or five guys that can carry us, but we have 30 guys that when they’re on the same page can be pretty powerful. It’s been everybody in the program making a contribution to our success this year.”
The Bulldogs turned it around in 2009, finishing the regular season at 22-20 overall and 15-10 in the Western State Conference North Division—good enough for second place behind 19-6 Cuesta College.
Adjusting for strength of schedule, the team ranked ninth among the state’s Southern Conference teams in the Ratings Points Index. California Community College coaches voted the team 14th in the conference in the final poll of the season, and the team entered the playoffs as the 13 seed, taking on No. 5 Cypress College on the road May 8 and 9. While the team lost both games to Cypress, the Bulldogs could still hold their heads high after producing the best season in recent school history.
Players said the season’s highlight was a crucial 6-3 road win against Ventura College on April 25, which assured the Bulldogs of a playoff spot for the first time since 2003.
“When it came down to it, it was one game, and we all just knew we were going to win it,” said sophomore pitcher Bryn Calhoun, who started the team’s playoff opener. “The playoffs are definitely a good way to go out, since this is our last shot.”
The recent success is a far cry from two seasons ago, when the Bulldogs fielded the worst team in the school’s history, posting a 7-18 mark in the conference and 12-31 overall record.
Sophomore pitcher Sheldon Lechuga, the current closer, was on that team and witnessed the turnaround firsthand.
“What’s different this year is that everyone cares. We all wanted to make the playoffs. That was everybody’s goal,” Lechuga said before the Cypress games. “None of us are surprised that we’re in the playoffs. We all expected to be doing this. It might be a surprise to other people, but we’re not surprised.”
According to Stevens, the first series of the season against Santa Ana College and Cypress College might have been the impetus for the team’s sudden streak of confidence this year. Santa Ana was the top-ranked team in the state at the time; Cypress was No. 3. Though Hancock lost all three games to Santa Ana, it was able to beat Cypress 6-5 on the road.
“We went down there feeling like we belonged,” Stevens said. “I don’t know, maybe we just came into the season with the right mentality.”
At one point this season, the team rattled off nine wins in 11 games, including a stretch of five straight victories. Two of those wins came back-to-back over rival Cuesta. The players proved themselves as road warriors all season long, finishing 13-4 in the regular season away from home.
While his expectations of the team coming into this season were uncertain due to a glut of injuries last fall, Stevens said he felt that if pitchers Chance Daskauskas, Joey Green, and Calhoun got healthy, the team would be fine. They did, and it was.
This year, the Bulldogs relied on a pitching-by-committee staff with Lechuga leading the team with five wins and eight saves. Without a solid starting ace, first-year pitching coach Clarence Griego said all his pitchers came through at different times in critical situations.
“We’ve got more than a handful of competitive guys on this staff, and that helps,” Griego said. “We’ve had a staff approach this year. It’s the most rested guy that goes. I think the staff as a whole has come together and picked each other up when it really mattered.”
According to players and coaches, the team’s focus on defense kept them in games all year and gave them a chance to win on any given day. The chemistry among newcomers and second-year players also played a huge factor for the marked improvement, they said.
Sophomore catcher Corey Dotzler was on the 2008 squad that finished last in the division.
“We had a lot of young guys this year,” he said. “They came in not trying to do too much, but they definitely stepped up and had a big part in this team.”
The “team first” philosophy was reflected in the 11 Hancock players honored on the postseason All-Conference Team.
Lechuga and the other sophomores are on their way out at Hancock and looking for somewhere to play next season, so for them to end their Bulldog careers in the postseason carries a bonus.
Making the playoffs also does wonders for building the program in the future. According to Griego, everybody will benefit from this year’s run.
“Every program has a cyclical nature,” Griego said. “The sophomores get a chance to build as they move on to their four-year,
whereas the freshmen now have a very good taste of this type of atmosphere. Next year, they’ll know what it takes to play in that
big game.”
Stevens, who celebrated his eighth year at the school by sharing Western State Conference North Division Coach of the Year honors, will look back with pride at how well the 2009 team came together.
“They’ve really gotten the team concept and the power of one amongst 30,” Stevens said. “They’re a hard-working group, and they like to compete.”
Staff Writer Jeremy Thomas types by committee. Contact them at jthomas@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in May 14-21, 2009.
