Moorpark College freshman Nick Rogowski was voted Player of the Year in the Western State Conference's North Division.

The freshman from Woodbridge, Va. led the WSC with a 1.65 ERA in 11 starts and also led the Raiders by hitting .336 with 11 doubles and 20 runs scored.

After guiding the Raiders to a share of the WSC North title, Moorpark coach Mario Porto was voted Coach of the Year for the second time.

The All-WSC North first team also included sophomore outfielder Taylor Kahanowitch and sophomore pitcher Michael Coates of Moorpark; sophomore first baseman Dewey Gratton and freshman second baseman Jared Patterson of Ventura; and sophomore
outfielder Wesley Wright.

The second team included freshman catcher Alex Bishop, sophomore designated hitter Matt Toczynski and sophomore pitcher Kevin Brown of Moorpark; freshman outfielder Tim Ginther, sophomore shortstop Scott Zeman and pitcher Dustin Babola of Ventura; and freshman pitcher Casey Rodriguez and sophomore pitcher Sheldon Ekstrand of Oxnard.

Honorable mentions included freshman first baseman Brady Conlan, freshman infielder Jeff Bezjian, freshman pitcher Zach Mercer of Moorpark; freshman catcher Matt Burke of Ventura, freshman pitcher Joey Contreras, freshman pitcher Jacob Murray of Ventura; and freshman first baseman Jose Hernandez, sophomore shortstop Kevin Minjares, sophomore pitcher David Barroso of Oxnard.

WSC North Gold Glove winners included Bishop, Conlan and Coates of Moorpark; Minjares and Wright of Oxnard; and Ginther of Ventura.

The spring season has arrived. The Ventura and Moorpark colleges softball teams opened their seasons a combined 4-2 at the Glendale tournament last weekend.

The Ventura College tennis teams started its season Thursday at Cerritos.

"Everything's rolling," said Ventura athletic director Will Cowen.

The Moorpark College baseball team opens what may be its last season, due to budget cuts, today at the Bakersfield tournament.

The Oxnard College baseball team, ranked No. 20 in the Southern California preseason poll, opens at College of the Desert this morning. The Ventura College baseball team hosts No. 4 Palomar in its opener Saturday.

Oxnard College second baseman Jake Mahan and catcher Mario Landeros continued a team tradition this week, when both were named to the California Community College baseball coaches association All-American team.

Mahan, a sophomore from Camarillo High, led the state with 66 hits.

Landeros, a sophomore from Oxnard High, was right behind Mahan in nearly every offensive category, finishing second on the team in batting average (.378), hits (45), doubles (seven), RBIs (27) and slugging (.444). He led the team in on base percentage (.444).

The selections mean five Condors have earned All-America honors in the past three seasons. First baseman Jonathan Erb and third baseman Bryan Willson, both Camarillo High products, were 2010 All-Americans and outfielder J.C. Aguayo was a 2009 All-American.

Ventura College sophomore Allen Gwynn joined the Oxnard duo on the team.

The Santa Paula High product starred at third base, hitting .324 with 26 RBIs, and was the Pirates' most reliable starting pitcher, leading the team with five wins and a 4.22 ERA. He is the Pirates' first All-American selection since Garrett Rau in 2009.

Ventura sophomore outfielder Ryan Jones was rewarded with his hard work with an All-Southern California selection. The Buena High product, who transformed himself from a role player into a star, hit .379 with 11 doubles and 24 RBIs.

Jake Mahan, who committed this month to Arkansas, won't be the first Oxnard College baseball player to make the trip to Fayetteville.

At least four previous Condors played for the Razorbacks, including Tim Seward, Mark Berry, Howard Hilton and Andy Skeels, according to former Oxnard coach Jerry White.

Five local stars filled out this spring's All-Western State Conference North Division baseball first team.

Oxnard College second baseman Jake Mahan, the sophomore from Camarillo High who led the state with 66 hits, was named to the first team for the second straight season.

Oxnard freshman Jesus Valdez, who starred as a pitcher and a third baseman, was 6-1 with a 2.80 ERA and 66 strikeouts in 61 innings in 10 starts on the mound. The Hueneme High graduate also slugged three home runs.

Moorpark College ace Landon Hunt, a second-team selection as a freshman, was promoted to the first team as a sophomore. The Moorpark High product was 2-4 with a 3.43 ERA, holding opposing hitters to a .212 batting average.

As a Ventura College sophomore, Ryan Jones transformed himself from a role player into a first-team All-WSC North performer. The Buena High graduate hit .379 with 11 doubles and 24 RBIs.

Ventura sophomore Allen Gwynn starred at third base and was the Pirates' most reliable starting pitcher. The Santa Paula High product hit .324 with 26 RBIs and lead the team with five wins and a 4.22 ERA.

The All-WSC North second team was dominated by Moopark. The Raiders had four selections, including freshman infielder Austin Mascorro, sophomore outfielder Bryce Dailey, and the starting pitching tandem of freshman Mike Coates and sophomore Tyler Karp.

The second team also included the Oxnard duo of sophomore catcher Mario Landeros and freshman shortstop Kevin Minjares.

All-WSC North honorable mentions included freshman first baseman Travis Keppel and freshman closer Sheldon Ekstrand of Oxnard; sophomore catcher John Travnick, sophomore infielder Tyler Wirth and freshman outfielder Taylor Kahanowitch of Moorpark; freshman first baseman Andy Yingling, sophomore infielder Trevor Duffy and sophomore outfielder Joseph Luna of Ventura.

Oxnard College second baseman Jake Mahan is challenging for state statistical superiority at the plate.

But the sophomore from Camarillo High would gladly trade in his personal success if it meant the Condors were in position to defend their Western State Conference title.

"It's kind of bittersweet," said Mahan. "I'm playing pretty well, but I would much rather be in the playoffs."

Mahan entered this week leading the state with 57 hits, along with Andrew Mistone of Rio Hondo and Christopher Manning of Barstow.

Although, according to Mahan, that's news to him.

"I don't look at stats," said Mahan. "I just play baseball because I think it's fun."

His .413 batting average, 76 total bases and four triples also place him in the state's Top 10 and his 27 RBIs and .551 slugging percentage sit in the Top 40 as Oxnard (16-16) prepares to wrap up its season next week with a two-game series with Santa Barbara City.

Behind Chris Joyce and Kylin Turnbull, who have combined to whiff 149 batters in 122 innings, Santa Barbara features one of the top starting rotations in Southern California.

"That should be fun," said Mahan.

Mahan, who has hit .385 in his two years at Oxnard with 12 doubles, nine triples, four home runs and 53 RBIs and 62 runs scored, attributes his success to the Condors' coaching staff.

He has received recruiting interest from Azusa Pacific, Westmont and the University of Arkansas. It will also be interesting to see if his play has convinced any of the scouts tracking teammate Jesus Valdez to draft him in June.

The spring season arrived last week with the first softball games of the year. Baseball arrives today as the defending WSC champion Oxnard College baseball team visits East Los Angeles, Ventura travels to Porterville and Moorpark is at Bakersfield.

The success of the Oxnard College baseball team hasn't stopped with a championship season on the diamond.

At least 10 Condors have signed to play for four-year schools next year.

"That's a large group, the most we've ever had," said Oxnard head coach Jon Larson. "We had a good group."

At least three players from the Western State Conference title-winning team will be playing Division I baseball next year. Third baseman Bryan Willson (Camarillo High), the WSC North Player of the Year, has signed with Central Arkansas University. Center fielder Brad Greve (Newbury Park) has signed with Long Island University. Catcher Zack McDonell (Pacifica) has signed with Hawaii.

That number would climb to four if pitcher Justin Bricker (Camarillo) can successfully walk onto the team at Stanford. The engineering student with a 4.0 GPA has already beaten long odds by successfully transferring to the prestigious Palo Alto school.

"It's pretty exciting for us," said assistant coach Roger Frash.

Pitchers Chris Defratus (Rio Mesa), Santos Reyes (Channel Islands) and Joey Juarez (Hueneme) will give Division II Colorado State-Pueblo a trio of Oxnard-native arms.

All-State picks Jonathan Erb (Camarillo) and J.C. Aguayo (Hueneme) highlight the Condors moving on to NAIA schools. First baseman Erb will swing it for Azusa Pacific. Outfielders Aguayo and Juan Reveles (Oxnard) are headed to Northwestern Oklahoma. First baseman Scott McNally will play for Friends University (Kan.)

"That's what it's all about," said Larson. "That's the most important thing."

Oxnard third baseman Bryan Willson was named the Player of the Year of the WSC's North Division. The sophomore from Camarillo High hit .331 with five home runs and 35 RBIs. He also was 7-3 with five saves and a 2.57 ERA as a pitcher.

Oxnard's Justin Bricker was named the co-Pitcher of the Year. The sophomore from Camarillo High was 7-1 with a 3.84 ERA.

Oxnard's John Larson was the Coach of Year as the Condors edged Hancock for its first WSC North title since 2005.

The All-WSC North first team included Willson, Bricker, catcher Zack McDonell, first baseman Jonathan Erb, second baseman Jake Mahan, and pitcher J.C. Aguayo of Oxnard; first baseman Dewey Grattan and outfielder Joseph Luna of Ventura; and outfielder Robert Toczynski of Moorpark.

The All-WSC North second team included shortstop Brad Greve, outfielder Harper White and outfielder Juan Reveles of Oxnard; second baseman Derek Ring, outfielder A.J. Gallardo and third baseman Adam Barry of Ventura; and infielder Michael Bonenfant and pitcher Landon Hunt of Moorpark.

Honorable mentions included first baseman Scott McNally, third baseman Blake Adame, pitcher Santos Reyes of Oxnard; catcher Ricky Lipman, utility Allen Gywnn and pitcher James Pinto of Ventura; and catcher Ryan Cobb, outfielder Brett Hockenberry and pitcher Matt Montgomery of Moorpark.

Oxnard catcher McDonell, Ventura center fielder Luna and Oxnard right fielder Aguayo won gold gloves.

As if the weekend couldn't get any worse for the Oxnard College baseball team, No. 16 Cuesta, trailing No. 2 San Diego City 10-5 in the eighth inning, came back to beat No. 2 San Diego City 12-11 and 20-7.

If the Condors had been able to beat Palomar this weekend, they would have hosted one of the two four-team Super Regionals for a state Final Four berth next weekend.

Instead the No. 2, 3 and 4 seeds were all eliminated

WSC North partners No. 16 Cuesta and No. 13 Hancock both advanced, eliminating No. 2 San Diego City and No. 4 Chaffey.

The No. 3-seeded Oxnard College baseball team (26-11) will attempt to respond to Friday's 17-5 loss in Game 2 of its Southern California regional first-round playoff series with No. 14 Palomar (23-13).

You can follow the action live on @VCSCollege's Twitter feed.

You can also listen live to Eric Evelhoch's radio broadcast at HomefieldSports.com.

OXNARD LINEUP
CF Brad Greve
2B Jake Mahan
P J.C. Aguayo
3B Bryan Willson
1B Jonathan Erb
LF Harper White
C Zack McDonell
SS Blake Adame
RF Eric Weiss

PALOMAR LINEUP
CF Jeremy Cline
2B Terrence Buchanon
DH Alfonso Casillas
LF Victor Martinez
1B Jose Rodriguez
RF Austin Muerhing
C BK Santy
3B Zach Gage
SS Ty Afinir

Community College baseball playoffs
Palomar 17, Oxnard 5: OC baseball beaten soundly by Palomar by Joe Curley.

Premier Development League soccer
Ventura County Fusion preview: Fusion to celebrate its 2009 PDL title at home opener by Joe Curley.

Round 1 Playoff Games, May 7-8
Best-of-3 Series
No. 1 Santa Ana 5, No. 18 Compton 4
No. 2 San Diego City 5, No. 16 Cuesta 4
No. 14 Palomar 17, No. 3 Oxnard 5
No. 13 Hancock 9, No. 4 Chaffey 8
No. 5 El Camino 7, No. 12 LA Pierce 2
No. 11 Bakersfield 9, No. 6 Golden West 8
No. 10 Desert 8, No. 7 Cypress 7
No. 9 Rio Hondo 15, No. 8 LA Valley 5

Round 2 Playoffs (Super Regional Tournaments) May 14-16
Round 3 Playoffs (State Tournament) May 21-23 at Fresno City College

Alfonso Casillas was 4 for 5 with two home runs and Jeremy Cline and Ty Afenir combined for eight hits and seven runs scored as No. 13 Palomar scored six unearned runs in the top of the first inning along the way to a 17-5 win over No. 3 Oxnard in the first game of the Best-of-3 Southern California regional first-round playoff series.

Palomar scored the first nine runs against an Oxnard team who had suffered nine of its 10 losses by one or two runs.

Palomar piled up 20 hits, putting up crooked numbers in four of the first five innings against Oxnard starter Justin Bricker (7-2), who had been undefeated at home.

Oxnard (26-11) must sweep a doubleheader today from Palomar (23-13) to survive and advance to next weekend's Super Regionals. Game 2 begins at 11 a.m.

Oxnard has J.C. Aguayo and Bryan Willson, who are a combined 14-5, available to pitch today.

Palomar loaded the bases with one out in the top of the first inning, but Bricker looked like he was out of the inning by striking out Anthony Meza and inducing a grounder to shortsop from Jose Rodriguez.

But an infield error opened the flood gates, as Austin Muehring hit a bases-clearing triple off the centerfield fence and Afenir followed with an RBI single.

It was the second-biggest inning of the season allowed by Oxnard, who were facing its biggest deficit of the year.

Casillas' solo shot to center in the second and RBI singles by Terrence Buchanon and Casillas in the third made it 9-0 Comets.

Oxnard clawed within 9-3 in the bottom of the third on Aguayo's RBI single, Willson's RBI double and Harper White's RBI walk. But a bigger inning was halted by Buchanon, the second baseman, whose leaping stab of Zack McDonell's line drive produced an inning-ending double play.

McDonell had also seen his potential two-RBI double robbed by a diving play by left fielder Victor Martinez in the previous inning.

Palomar ended the drama with a four-run fifth inning, featuring Casillas' two-run opposide-field shot beyond right field, which made it 13-3.

Community College baseball
Palomar 17, Oxnard 5
Southern California regional playoffs, first round
Game 1
PALOMAR 612 040 13 -- 17 19 1
OXNARD 003 002 00 -- 5 9 4
Wilkins, Meza (9) and Santy. Bricker, DeFratus (7) and McDonell. 2B -- Palomar: Cline 2, Santy, Casillas, Martinez; Oxnard: Willson, McNally. 3B -- Palomar: Muehring; Oxnard: White. HR -- Palomar: Casillas 2,
Records: Oxnard 26-11, Palomar 24-13.

We'll have live coverage of the first game of the Best-of-3 Southern California regional first-round playoff series between No. 14 Palomar (22-13) and No. 3 Oxnard (26-10) on our Twitter page with the first pitch at 2 p.m.

The Oxnard College baseball team was seeded No. 3 in the Southern California regional playoffs Sunday at the coaches' meeting at College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita.

The Condors (26-10) will host No. 14 Palomar College (22-13) in a Best-of-3 first-round series Friday and Saturday.

Palomar fell 6-5 to Ventura, which split four games with Oxnard in WSC North play, Feb. 26.

First pitch for Game 1 is 2 p.m.

Behind the rock-solid pitching rotation of J.C. Aguayo (7-2, 2.97 ERA), Justin Bricker (7-1, 3.84) and Bryan Willson (7-3, 2.57) and a balanced lineup led by Jonathan Erb (.414, 15 doubles, six home runs, 47 RBI) and Jake Mahan (.363, 12 extra base hits, 40 runs scored), Oxnard swept second-place Hancock to win its first WSC North title since 2005 by three games last week.

The Condors were ranked No. 4 in Southern California and No. 9 in the Western region in last week's polls, before rising to No. 3 in the final RPI Index Saturday.

Oxnard manager Jon Larson was hopeful of the No. 2 seed, since the top two seeds face the winners of Wednesday's play-in games, where winners can burn through their pitching staffs in a single must-win game. Plus, the top two seeds are in line to host the two Super Regionals, May 15-16.

"I was hoping to get the No. 2 seed because that's a huge advantage," said Larson.

No. 1 Santa Ana (28-8) and No. 2 San Diego City (26-7) are the top seeds.

Oxnard beat Santa Ana, 8-0, on April 6, becoming just the second team to shut out the three-time state champion in 162 games since Feb. 6, 2007.

2010 California Community College Baseball
Southern California May 2
Sd. Teams Conf. S.Rec,C.Rec.
1 Santa Ana Orange Empire 28-8, 18-3
2 San Diego Pacific Coast 26-7, 19-6
3 Oxnard West. St. North 26-10, 16-4
4 Chaffey Foothill 26-10, 23-1
5 El Camino South Coast 27-9, 16-5
6 Golden West Orange Empire 23-12, 14-7
7 Cypress Orange Empire 22-14, 13-8
8 LA Valley West. St.South 15-19-1, 14-7
9 Rio Hondo Foothill 26-10, 17-7
10 Desert Foothill 24-11, 16-8
11 Bakersfield West St. South 24-12, 13-8
12 LA Pierce West. St. South 25-11, 13-8
13 Hancock West. St. North 21-14, 13-7
14 Palomar Pacific Coast 22-13, 17-8
15 Orange Coast Orange Empire 19-16, 11-10
16 Cuesta West. St. North 19-17, 10-10
17 Southwestern Pacific Coast 22-14, 15-10
18 Compton South Coast 21-15, 15-6

Schedule
Play-In (Single Elimination) Games, May 4
#18 Compton at #15 Orange Coast
#17 Cosumnes River at #15 San Jose

Round 1 Playoff Games, May 7-8
Best-of-3 Series
#Lowest Seed Remaining at #1 Santa Ana
#Next-Lowest Seed at #2 San Diego
#14 Palomar at #3 Oxnard
#13 Hancock at #4 Chaffey
#12 LA Pierce at #5 El Camino
#11 Bakersfield at #6 Golden West
#10 Desert at #7 Cypress
#9 Rio Hondo at #8 LA Valley

Round 2 Playoffs (Super Regional Tournaments) May 14-16
Round 3 Playoffs (State Tournament) May 21-23 at Fresno City College

The games are getting more and more important in the WSC North baseball race.

Oxnard College (23-10, 13-4) must win at county rival Ventura College (15-17, 7-10) today at 2:30 p.m. to ensure the Condors are in first place entering its season-ending, home-and-home series with co-leaders Hancock Thursday and Friday.

It looks like the Pirates must win to keep their postseason hopes alive.

"I think what it's going to take for us is we have to win out and we have to hope that Cuesta loses at least one game," said Ventura skipper Don Adams Monday. "That'll put us in fourth by ourselves.

"It's slim, but at least there's a chance."

According to Adams, Ventura, tied for fourth with Cuesta at 7-10, needs to finish fourth outright, since it will lose the tiebreaker with the Cougars should Hancock win the title.

The first tiebreaker is head-to-head record against the league champion. Ventura has taken two of three from Oxnard, but went 0-4 against Hancock. Obviously, to win out, Ventura would have to hand Oxnard a loss today.

That also means that, in the event of a tie atop the standings, Oxnard has tiebreaker over Hancock by virtue of its 4-0 sweep of third-place Santa Barbara City.

"It's all kind of crazy," said Adams. "We're just worried about (today) and (Moorpark, who Ventura faces Thursday and Friday) is playing really well.

"It's a big week, for us, obviously. We know it's slim chances, but we're happy to be in that hunt after we started 1-6 (in the WSC North)."

Oxnard will give the ball to sophomore leader J.C. Aguayo (5-2, 2.87 ERA). He will be opposed by Ventura's fire-balling lefty Eric Hong, who may be 2-2 with a 5.04 ERA, but has struck out more than a batter per inning (29 in 25.0).

The Hancock College baseball team hasn't lost in seven games since a 7-6 loss at Oxnard April 6. The Bulldogs surge hasn't just pulled them even with Oxnard at 13-4 in the WSC North with three games to play, it has allowed the WSC North to jump past the Orange Empire as Southern California's top baseball conference in RPI, a key component in the postseason seeding process.

Oxnard and Hancock are ranked No. 4 and No. 6 in Southern California RPI. Both seem to be in position to host a first-round Southern California regional playoff series.

The Top 10 is Santa Ana (.602), Desert (.595), Cypress (.593), Oxnard (.588), San Diego (.576), Hancock (.575), Bakersfield (.570), Citrus (.570), Chaffey (.567) and El Camino (.566).

The question is whether the fourth place team in the WSC North, either Ventura or Cuesta, will earn a postseason berth.

Ventura has reached the playoffs in three of the past four seasons.

The Oxnard College baseball team (23-10) is ranked No. 11 in the April 23 Western regional poll, conducted by the American Baseball Coaches' Association.

ABCA - Junior College Pacific Associations Division
April 23 Poll
RANK SCHOOL REGION Last Week
1 Santa Ana (23-8, 13-3) SoCal 1
2 Columbia Basin (19-5, 8-0) NW 2
3 Canada (26-3, 18-1) NorCal 3
4 San Diego City (22-7, 15-6) SoCal 4
5 Chabot (24-6, 16-3) NorCal 5
6 Lower Columbia (19-3, 5-2) NW 6
7 Cypress (20-11, 11-5) SoCal 7
8 San Mateo (23-6-1, 15-4) NorCal 12T
9 El Camino (23-8, 12-4) SoCal 9
10 Bellevue (19-9, 7-1) NW 10
11 Oxnard (21-9, 11-3) SoCal 11
12 Sacramento City (19-12, 13-3) NorCal 8
13 Chaffey (20-10, 17-1) SoCal 14
14 Fresno City (21-8, 15-3) NorCal 12T
15 Skagit Valley (15-4, 3-1) NW 15
16 Hancock (19-11, 11-4) SoCal 21T
17 Feather River (28-4, 20-1) NorCal 17
18 Golden West (18-11, 9-6) SoCal 21T
19 Chemeketa (15-4, 5-3) NW 19
20 Ohlone (22-8, 14-5) NorCal 25
21 Desert (21-8, 13-5) SoCal NR
22 Merced (20-9, 14-4) NorCal 20
23 Bakersfield (21-10, 10-6) SoCal NR
24 Mt. Hood (12-10, 5-3) NW 24
25 Cosumnes River (18-11-1, 9-7) NorCal 23

Entering the final, privotal week of the regular season, the Oxnard College baseball team (23-10) is up to No. 5 in the Southern California coaches' poll.

The Condors are the only other team besides top-ranked Santa Ana to earn a No. 1 vote. Of course, Oxnard beat Santa Ana, 8-0, on April 6.

Other WSC North teams include Hancock (21-11) at No. 7 and Santa Barbara City at No. 15. Cuesta also received votes.

Southern California Poll 7: April 22
Rnk. Teams *Pts. (1st.) L.Wk.Conf. S.Rec,C.Rec.
1 Santa Ana 239 (11) 1 Orange Empire (23-8, 189-3)
2 San Diego 216 2 Pacific Coast (22-7, 15-6)
3 Cypress 209 3 Orange Empire (20-11, 11-5)
4 El Camino 200 4 South Coast (23-8, 12-4)
5 Oxnard 197 (1) 5 West. St. North (21-9, 11-3)
6 Chaffey 153 6 Foothill (20-10, 17-1)
7 Hancock 146 9 West. St. North (19-11, 11-4)
9 Desert 119 11 Foothill (21-8, 13-5)
11 Palomar 110 13 Pacific Coast (18-13, 13-8)
12 Rio Hondo 95 15 Foothill (22-8, 13-5)
13 Canyons 95 8 West. St. South (16-13, 10-6)
14 Orange Coast 79 16 Orange Empire (16-14, 8-8)
15 Santa Barbara 77 12 West. St. North (18-13, 8-7)
16 LA Pierce 72 7 West. St. South (20-11, 8-8)
17 LA Valley 57 N/R West. St.South (12-17-1, 11-5)
18 Southwestern 51 17 Pacific Coast (18-14, 11-10)
19 Citrus 45 14 West. St. South (19-13, 9-8)
20 Mt. San Antonio 25 18 South Coast (16-15, 10-7)
Others: Cuesta (13); Mt. San Jacinto (9); Compton (9); San Diego Mesa (5); San Bernardino (4); Riverside (3); Long Beach (3).
South Compiled by Kevin Hazlett, San Diego Mesa College
Note: 12 of 45 Southern California Coaches participating.
*Points based on the number of ballots in the poll.