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 suspension of the Moorpark College baseball team means that Tuesday's 5-3 Raiders win will be the final game between cross-county rivals Moorpark and Ventura for some time.

The two schools split the season series, 2-2, meaning Ventura will hold a slight 61-59 series edge going forward.

Porto and Ventura coach Don Adams go back decades, to when Porto was a VC player on the 1974 WSC title-winning team.

Before the game, Adams presented Porto with his 38-year-old No. 9 Ventura College jersey. After, he seemed optimistic that the Raiders could prolong their final run.

"With the pitching that he has," Adams said, "his team could get into the tournament and do some damage."

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Round 15 Scores, Tue., April 20
Hancock 9, Cuesta 4
Ventura 5, Santa Barbara 0
Oxnard 10, Moorpark 5 (played Friday, April 23)

Round 16 Scores, Thu. April 22
Hancock 11, Cuesta 10
Oxnard 6, Moorpark 5
Santa Barbara 4, Ventura 2

Round 17 Scores, Sat. April 24
Ventura 6, Oxnard 4
Cuesta 5, Moorpark 3
Hancock 7, Santa Barbara 6

Standings after Round 17, Sat. April 24
Conference Overall
Team W-L GB W-L
Oxnard 13-4 -- 23-10
Hancock 13-4 -- 21-11
Santa Barbara 9-8 4.0 19-14
Cuesta 7-10 6.0 16-17
Ventura 7-10 6.0 15-17
Moorpark 2-15 11.0 9-22-1

Round 18 Schedule, Tue., April 24
Oxnard at Ventura
Cuesta at Moorpark
Hancock at Santa Barbara City

Round 19 Schedule, Thu., April 24
Oxnard at Hancock
Ventura at Moorpark
Santa Barbara City at Cuesta

Round 20 Schedule, Fri., April 30
Hancock at Oxnard
Moorpark at Ventura
Cuesta at Santa Barbara City

The WSC North baseball race will be decided face to face this week.

As first-place Oxnard lost at home against Ventura, 6-4, Saturday second-place Hancock was busy beating Santa Barbara City, 7-6, so the teams are in a flat-footed tie at 13-4 with three games to play.

"It's going to be exciting," said Oxnard skipper Jon Larson. "We feel good. They're a good club. They've been playing really well too.

"But we're fine. Whoever catches and pitches better is going to take this thing."

Oxnard (23-10) plays at Ventura (15-17) Tuesday before finishing with a home-and-away series with Hancock (21-11) Thursday and Friday.

The WSC North overtook the powerhouse Orange Empire as the top conference in the SoCal RPI this week, adding to the argument that the its fourth-place team receive playoff consideration.

"Our league is very tough," said Larson. "The Orange Empire used to always get four or five teams in there. So I'm thinking if we're the top conference, we could get four."

Ventura, which is tied for fourth with Cuesta at 7-10, has reached the postseason in three of the past four years.

As first-place Oxnard lost at home against Ventura, 6-4, second-place Hancock was busy beating Santa Barbara City, 7-6.

So the teams are in a flat-footed tie with three games to play.

Oxnard plays at Ventura Tuesday before finishing with a home-and-away series with Hancock Thursday and Friday.

That means that, no matter what happens, the title will be decided head to head this week.

Round 14 Scores, Sat., April 17
Oxnard 3, Cuesta 0
Hancock 6, Ventura 3
Santa Barbara 19, Moorpark 4

Round 15 Scores, Tue., April 20
Hancock 9, Cuesta 4
Ventura 5, Santa Barbara 0
Moorpark at Cuesta (ppd. to Friday, April 23)

Round 16 Scores, Thu. April 22
Hancock 11, Cuesta 10
Oxnard 6, Moorpark 5
Santa Barbara 4, Ventura 2

Standings after Round 16, April 22
Conference Overall
Team W-L GB W-L
Oxnard 11-3 -- 21-9
Hancock 11-4 0.5 19-11
Santa Barbara 8-7 3.5 18-13
Cuesta 6-9 5.5 15-16
Ventura 6-9 5.5 14-16
Moorpark 2-12 9.0 9-19-1

Today's Round 15 Makeup, Fri., April 23
Moorpark at Oxnard

Round 17 Schedule, Sat., April 24
Ventura at Oxnard
Moorpark at Cuesta
Santa Barbara City at Hancock

Ricky Lipman lined the game-winning, two-RBI single as the Pirates scored twice in the seventh and three times in the eighth to come from behind and beat visting Cuesta, 9-8, Tuesday afternoon.

AJ Gallardo (3-1) picked up the win in relief, striking out three in three innings. Dewey Gratton went 3 for 3 with two runs and an RBI.

Ventura (13-14) and Cuesta (14-14) now sit tied in fourth place at 5-7 in the WSC North, five games behind first-place Oxnard.

Non-conference Scores, Tue., April 6
Oxnard 8, Santa Ana 0
Cuesta 1, Orange Coast 0

Round 10 Scores, Thu., April 8
Ventura 6, Moorpark 3
Oxnard 7, Hancock 6
Santa Barbara City 3, Cuesta 2

Round 11 Scores, Sat. April 10
Oxnard 24, Santa Barbara City 9
Cuesta 8, Ventura 7
Hancock 11, Moorpark 1

Standings after Round 11, April 10
Conference Overall
Team W-L GB W-L
Oxnard 9-2 -- 19-8
Santa Barbara 7-4 2.0 15-11
Hancock 7-4 2.0 17-10
Cuesta 5-6 4.0 14-13
Ventura 4-7 5.0 12-14
Moorpark 1-10 8.0 8-17-1

Round 12 Schedule, Tue., April 13
Cuesta at Ventura
Santa Barbara City at Oxnard
Moorpark at Hancock

Round 13 Schedule, Thu., April 15
Oxnard at Cuesta
Hancock at Ventura
Santa Barbara City at Moorpark

Round 15 Schedule, Sat., April 17
Cuesta at Oxnard
Ventura at Hancock
Moorpark at Santa Barbara City

Anthony Martinez improved to 4-3 with his first complete game of the season, striking out 13 and allowing just seven hits and a walk as the Ventura College baseball team beat visiting Moorpark, 6-3, Thursday afternoon.

Dewey Gratton was 2 for 5 with an RBI and Joseph Luna reached base five times on two walks, two hit by pitches and a rally-starting bunt single in the two-run sixth as Ventura (12-13) improved to 4-6 in the WSC North.

Josh Gray tripled and Alexander Birgel doubled for Moorpark (8-16-1, 1-9)
Records: Ventura 12-13, 4-6 WSC North; Moorpark 8-16-1, 1-9.

COMMUNITY COLLEGE BASEBALL

Oxnard 7, Hancock 6: J.C. Aguayo went 2 for 3 with a walk, run and an RBI at the plate and pitched into the eight inning for his fifth win of the season as Oxnard stayed alone atop the WSC North with a win over second-place Hancock.

Brad Greve, Blake Adame,Harper White, Juan Reveles all had two hits for Oxnard (18-8, 8-2), which used a single run in the seventh inning to break decide a 6-6 tie.

Trailing 9-2 after four innings, Brystal Hood spurred a nine-run fifth inning with a two-run home run as the Oxnard College softball team came from behind to beat host Santa Barbara City College, 13-9, Thursday afternoon.

Priscilla Garcia (3-2) earned the win with six strong innings after starter Michelle Getman left with a leg injury.

Lindsey Herrera was 4 for 5 for Oxnard, which leapfrogged the Vaqueros (17-12, 5-6) into fourth place in the Western State Conference's Gold Division.

Ventura 14, L.A. Pierce 0:Ashley Dasnoit went 2 for 3 with two RBIs, Shiane Sharpe was 3 for 3 with two RBIs, Vannessa Barretto was 3 for 3 with an RBI and pitcher Jenn Jurarez pitched a two-hitter as first-place Ventura (22-10) improved to 9-2 in WSC Gold play.

COMMUNITY COLLEGE BASEBALL

Ventura 8, Los Angeles Valley 7: Derek Ring was 2 for 5 with a run scored, A.J. Gallardo was 2 for 4 with an RBI and two runs scored and Jeremy Dann hit a home run for the host Pirates (10-12).

Moorpark 8, Porterville 0: Brett Hockenberry went 4 for 5 with an RB, Michael Bonenfant went 3 for 5 with three RBIs and Rob Toczynski went 2 for 4 for the host Raiders (8-16-1).

Round 7 Schedule, Tuesday
Oxnard 4, Ventura 3
Cuesta 16, Moorpark 1
Santa Barbara 13, at Hancock 3

Round 8 Schedule, Thursday
Ventura 13, Oxnard 12
Moorpark 8, Cuesta 3
Hancock 4, at Santa Barbara 3

Standings after Round 8, March 25
Conference Overall
Team W-L GB W-L
Oxnard 7-1 -- 15-6
Hancock 5-3 2.0 12-9
Santa Barbara 5-3 2.0 12-9
Cuesta 4-4 3.0 11-9
Ventura 2 6 5.0 7-10
Moorpark 1 7 6.0 6-13-1

Round 9 Schedule, Saturday, 1 p.m.
Oxnard at Hancock
Santa Barbara at Cuesta
Ventura at Moorpark

The Ventura College baseball team used an 11-run seventh inning to climb out of a 11-run hole and halt rival Oxnard College's nine-game winning streak with a 13-12 win in 11 innings on a streak-snapping Thursday afternoon.

Down 12-1, Ventura (7-11, 2-6) was on its way to a sixth straight loss before piling up 11 of its 22 hits in knotting the score in the seventh inning.

Sophomore second baseman Derek Ring drew a bases loaded hit by pitch in the bottom of the 11th to win the game.

Ring was 3-6 with two RBIs. Allen Gwynn was 4 for 5 with two runs scored. Adam Barry had three hits and three runs.

Despite suffering its fourth walk-off loss of the season, Oxnard (15-6) still leads the WSC North by two games at 7-1.

The Condors soared to a 7-1 lead after J.C. Aguayo's three-run home run in the second inning followed Jonathan Erb's first-inning grand slam.

Aguayo was 4 for 5 with five RBIs and allowed one run through six innings. Jake Mahan was 4 for 5 with four runs scored.

Two days after being punished 16-1 in San Luis Obispo, the Moorpark College baseball team snapped its eight-game losing streak with an 8-3 win over visiting Cuesta.

Freshman pitcher Landon Hunt pitched a complete game and freshman outfielder Robert Toczynski cleared the loaded bases with a three-RBI double to give Moorpark a 5-1 lead through four innings.

Moorpark (6-13-1, 1-7) had dropped its first seven WSC North games. Cuesta is 11-9, 4-4.

Jonathan Erb sliced an outside fastball the other way into left field with two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth as the first-place Oxnard College baseball team extended its winning streak to nine games with a come-from-behind 4-3 win over visiting rival Ventura on Tuesday afternoon.

Oxnard (15-5), which maintained its two-game lead in the Western State Conference's North Division by improving to 7-0, had gone the first eight innings without a lead for the first time this season.

Sophomore Justin Bricker scattered seven hits and struck out six to improve to 3-1 with his second complete game.

Ventura wasted a nice start from sophomore Anthony Martinez, who didn't allow a hit until Erb led off the fifth inning by lining a single to right field

Yet Ventura (6-10, 1-6) suffered its fifth straight loss despite leading 2-0 after three innings and 3-1 in the eighth.

The Condors only entered the ninth even, 3-3, by the margin of a shoelace.

VC sophomore Derek Ring was 3 for 4 with a pair of RBI singles to push the Pirates ahead 3-1 entering the bottom of the eighth inning.

But Aguayo laced a leadoff triple down the right field line and Willson followed with an RBI single.

After a sacrifice bunt and a ground out moved Willson to third with two outs, second baseman Ring had a spike on his lead left cleat catch on the shoelace on his trailing right foot and cause a game-tying throwing error.

BOX SCORE

Oxnard 4, Ventura 3
WSC North
Ventura 002 000 100--3 7 2
Oxnard 000 010 021--4 11 3
Martinez, Hotchkiss (6), Pinto (6), Hong (8) and Lipman; Bricker and Lipman. W -- Bricker (1-0). L -- Hong (0-1). 3B -- Oxnard: Aguayo.
Team records -- Oxnard 15-5, 7-0; Ventura 6-10, 1-6.