While the Pasadena City College baseball team never lacks in compete level and has been a frequent SoCal Playoff qualifier--each of the last six Regionals--the 2025 Lancers will have to start the season knowing it will have to play on the road.
For now, PCC has lost use of its local off-campus diamond at Brookside Park's Jackie Robinson Field in the aftermath of the Eaton fire as its being used for recovery efforts by the City of Pasadena.
From a team standpoint, the Lancers return All-South Coast Conference First Team selections in utility player Bryan Richman, now the team's shortstop, outfielder Thomas Villanueva, and designated hitter/catcher Evan Nahra as well as three other starting players in first baseman Adrian Roman, third baseman Devin Munoz, and centerfielder Tyler Garcia.
Richman was third in conference batting (.422 in 23 SCC games) and led the team in overall hitting at .387 and had PCC best .497 on-base percentage. Richman drove in 30 RBI, led PCC in walks (27) and stolen bases (nine), and his 47 runs scored is the third highest season total in the program's history. After playing mostly in the outfield last season, he takes over at the all-important shortstop position.
Villanueva hit .298 with 23 RBI and seven steals while playing stellar defense at all three outfield positions. Nahra showed strong power, hitting .306 with a team-best 17 extra-base hits (12 doubles, three triples and two home runs).
The Roman started his community college career with an impressive 22-game hitting streak and finished with a .343 average and 27 RBI. Both lefty hitters, Richman and Roman joined PCC's exclusive 60-hit club, reached by only 10 players in school history.
Garcia batted .239, led the team with three homers and had 19 RBI while Munoz hit .274 with 11 RBI.
The pitching staff returns two key 2024 contributors in Joe Bacon, 7-4 record in 71.1 innings, and Connor Campbell, 5-4 with three saves, in 50.2 innings. Also returning are lettermen in relievers Alex Saucedo, a southpaw who posted a 3.65 ERA in 10 appearances, and Aiden Nunez, who also appeared in 10 games last season.
The only other sophomore is talented transfer hurler Hugo Tafoya, who pitched in 14 games at Arizona Western last season.
The team's 31-player roster includes a 20-man freshmen class. A portion of those are redshirts from other colleges in Isaac Tom, a 2-time, All-Olympic League selection and utility player at Maranatha High who attended Glendale College last year, and two players who came to PCC from Cal State San Marcos in outfielder Devon Eskridge and utility player Omar Cisneros. Eskridge was a 2023 Pasadena Star-News All-Area selection who helped Arcadia High to three Pacific League titles. Cisneros was an All-Mission League player at Sierra Canyon HS who hit .371 and led the league in hits.
PCC redshirt freshman outfielder Thomas Mesa is a '23 SGV/Whittier Prep All-Area choice from Montebello High.
Incoming frosh second baseman Rocco Regan (San Dimas High) earned a spot on the San Gabriel Valley News All-Area Team and is slated to be the team's regular 2B.
Pitcher Matt Garcia was an All-CIF Division 6 choice as a senior last year at Alhambra High.
Catcher Joaquin Salcedo (Arroyo High) has impressed in fall ball with his power hitting and is part of the team's 2-catcher rotation. Another power hitter is 6-foot-3 first baseman Brandon Gill (Victorville's Excelsior Charter), who his six dingers and batted .400 as a senior, and infielder/pitcher Logan Parker (Needles HS) along with Gill are expected to get plenty of playing time.
"We have one of our better hitting teams and we're going to need that offense to keep us battling in games," said PCC head coach Pat McGee, who needs 17 wins this season to reach a milestone 200-victory mark since taking over the program in 2015.
"Circumstances beyond our control put us on the road, but we're an off-campus program anyway. We're going to get through these adjustments and make the best of it. I'm hopeful we will eventually have access to Brookside."
OPENING WEEKEND
The Lancers evened their record to 1-1 with a 22-9 rout at host Citrus as leadoff hitter Richman went 3-for-5 with five RBI, a double, three runs scored and two walks and ninth batter Tyler Garcia was 3-for-5, scoring four runs, driving in four.
PCC led 7-2 only to see CItrus score six in the sixth for an 8-7 lead. In the seventh, Garcia tied it on a bomb triple to right field, then Richman beat out an infield single to shortstop to regain the Lancers advantage. Gill (3-for-7) capped a 5-run inning with a 2-run single on a fly ball that dropped in between two converging Owls outfielder.
The Lancers poured it on with eight runs in the ninth, reaching the 20-run mark for the fifth time since 2019.
Regan batted 2-for-5, was hit by a pitch twice, and slugged a 2-RBI double, Villanueva reached base safely six times in seven plate appearances going 2-for-3, scoring four runs, drawing three walks and a HBP.
PCC's third reliever Nunez was credited with the win (two innings, three hits, one run, two strikeouts) and Parker hurled two 1-hit, shutout innings with two Ks to close it out. Starter Tafoya allowed four hits, one run and struck out four over three innings.
In the team's season opener on Friday, host Cypress launched four home runs, two by Dustin Robinson, to hand PCC a 12-4 setback.
Roman batted 2-for-5, Richman was 1-for-3 with two runs scored and a stolen base, and Regan hit a RBI double.
Next week, PCC plays three games as part of the annual SoCal Challenge Tournament. The Lancers will play at LA Mission (El Cariso Field in Sylmar) on Thursday, Jan. 30, face San Joaquin Delta on Friday, Jan. 31 at Whittier College (11 a.m.) and then will "host" a team to be determined on Saturday, Feb. 1 to be played at Citrus College (12 noon).
