Baseball: Seven Falcons named to all-conference teams

Nolan Patterson voted SCC Pitcher of the Year
Nolan Patterson voted SCC Pitcher of the Year

Led by freshman Nolan Patterson (Long Beach Millikan HS), who was voted the Pitcher of the Year, the Cerritos College baseball team had seven players earn All-South Coast Conference recognition. It marks the second season in a row that a Falcon was named the Pitcher of the Year, as sophomore Derek Valdez (Los Alamitos HS) earned the award last season. Five Cerritos pitchers have earned the award since 2000. Valdez voted to the 1st Team this year, as were freshman first baseman Wyatt Ormonde (Long Beach Millikan HS), sophomore outfielder Evan Saito (Torrance HS) and freshman relief pitcher AJ Gonzalez (Gahr HS). The duo of sophomore starting pitcher Noah Andrunas (Gahr HS/UC Riverside) and freshman designated hitter Brody Cuellar (Bishop Montgomery HS) received 2nd Team accolades.

Patterson, who went 7-0 in conference play and had a 1.07 ERA, tossed three complete games and pitched 59 innings. He pitched consecutive complete games against Rio Hondo College and East Los Angeles College, with the latter being a shutout. Over the course of the season, Patterson has a 9-1 record with a 1.64 ERA in 88 innings, as well as a 1.17 WHIP. 

The Falcons, who have a solid trio of starters, saw Valdez go 6-1 in the SCC with a 1.61 ERA and struck out 37 batters in 56 innings. An All-American as a freshman, Valdez has an 11-2 record on the year with a 1.51 ERA in 95 2/3 innings of work. He's started 14 games and has earned the decision in three of them, which includes eight shutout innings against Pasadena City College and six against Los Angeles Harbor College. Andrunas is the only starter without a loss (10-0) and has pitched 81 2/3 innings with a 2.53 ERA and a team-leading 81 strikeouts. Gonzalez appeared in 10 conference games and had a 1-2 record with a save and a 2.02 ERA in 13 innings of work. He's allowed just one earned run in his last 7 1/3 innings of work.

Ormonde, who broke the college's single-season home run record, hit nine of his 13 round-trippers in conference play, while 37 of his 64 RBI came in SCC games. He's hitting .354 on the year with 12 doubles and a pair of triples. He's had a pair of nine-game hitting streaks during the season and 17 multi-hit games. Ormonde drove in a season-high five runs against Compton College, which included a grand slam. Saito leads the team on the year with a .359 batting average and saw time in the outfield, as well as at third base and second base. He picked up his batting in conference action, as he hit at a .409 clip and drove in 23 of his 31 runs in SCC play. Saito also leads the team with 13 doubles and 14 stolen bases.

Cuellar, who missed two weeks of action with an injury, still managed to hit .324 with 21 RBI with seven doubles. He's one of five starters hitting over .300 on the year, as he has a .325 average with four home runs and 40 RBI. Upon his return to the lineup, Cuellar propelled the first pitch he saw over the left field fence and finished the game 4-for-4 with five RBI and a double. He also drove in four runs in the first game of the season and drove in a season-high six runs against Compton.