SBCC was seeded No. 6 for the 18-team Southern Cal Regional baseball playoffs. The Vaqueros will host No. 11 Cypress on Friday at 2 p.m. in the opener of a best-of-3 series at Pershing Park.
Game 2 will be played on Saturday at SBCC at 11 a.m. with the Chargers as the designated home team. Game 3 will follow at 2 p.m., if necessary.
Southern Cal Regional first-round pairings
Santa Barbara is making its seventh straight trip to the state playoffs. The Vaqueros reached the So Cal Sectional round in 2014-15, finishing fifth in the state in both seasons. Last year, they played a first-round Regional game at home and lost to Riverside 3-2.
The Vaqueros (23-16) won their fourth WSC North title in seven years with a 13-7 record. Cypress (27-13) tied for third in the Orange Empire Conference at 11-10.
SBCC is 15-3 at home this year. The Vaqueros are led by freshman third baseman John Jensen (.346 average, 20 RBIs), and outfielders Reinhard Lautz (.309, 15 RBIs, 14 stolen bases) and Tyler Rosen (6 homers, 30 RBIs). Jensen has hit safely in 13 of the last 15 games.
Kyle Wade leads the Vaquero pitching staff with a 6-3 record and a 3.04 ERA. Steven Elliott is 6-1 out of the bullpen with a 2.48 ERA.
Sophomore second baseman Willie Aguilar tops the Chargers with a .333 average and 3 homers. He'll bring an 11-game hit streak in Friday's playoff opener. Designated hitter Brando Alamo is hitting .323 and Elias Ledesma is batting .320. Left fielder Pierce Loska leads in RBIs with 27.
Sophomore right-hander Andrew Quezada is one of the top pitchers in the state with an 8-1 record, the No. 2 ERA in the state (1.08), five complete games and 74 strikeouts.
Orange Coast (31-9) is the top seed in Southern Cal, followed by Grossmont (28-7-1), Canyons (27-12), Long Beach City (26-13-1) and El Camino (33-7).
