2016 ALL ORANGE EMPIRE CONFERENCE TEAM
The Cypress College baseball team had five players selected to the 2016 All-Orange Empire Conference Team. Chargers pitcher Tylor Megill, third baseman Willie Aguilar, and designated hitter Elijah Skipps were selected to the All-OEC First Team, while relief pitcher Andrew Quezada and catcher Nathan Rodriguez received All-OEC Second Team honors.
Sophomore ace Tylor Megill (3.51 ERA) leads the Chargers with 71 strikeouts in 89.2 innings this season. He led all OEC pitchers with 10 wins, which also ties for second most in the state this season. Megill's strongest performance of the season came in a 9-4 victory at Riverside where he allowed only six hits and one earned run with nine strikeouts in eight innings.
Sophomore infielder Willie Aguilar has been one of the top overall performers for the Chargers this season. Aguilar is second on the team in hits (51), second in homeruns (3), and second in stolen bases (7) to go along with a .340 batting average and a .473 slugging percentage. His signature performance came in a 7-5 win over Saddleback where he finished 3-for-4 with two homeruns, four RBI, and three runs scored.
Sophomore designated hitter Elijah Skipps has proven to be one of the top hitters in the state. Skipps finished second in the OEC and eighth in the state with a team leading eight homeruns. He leads the Chargers in runs scored (39) and slugging percentage (.626) to go along with 33 RBI, 28 walks, and 44 hits. Skipps has come through with clutch at bats all season, including a huge homerun in the SoCal Regional against El Camino and a walk-off single in game three of the Super Regional against Fullerton.
Freshman pitcher Andrew Quezada (8-3) spent a majority of the season as the Chargers main relief pitcher but down the stretch has come up big as a starter for Cypress. The right hander has started in each of his last three appearances at the mound, including two games where he went a full nine innings. Quezada is the only Cypress pitcher to record a save this season (2) and leads the team in strikeouts per game (7.45) with a 2.93 ERA in 67.2 innings.
Freshman catcher Nathan Rodriguez notched 47 hits, 29 RBI, and two homeruns while batting .318 this season. Behind the plate Rodriguez had a .993 fielding percentage with 241 putouts and only two passed balls this season. His strong arm and quick decision making has made opposing teams second guess attempting to stealing bases against the Chargers all season.
