Orange Coast College

Baseball: Two Pirates earn All-State honors; two others selected to All-Southern California squad

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

COSTA MESA -- After posting one of the most successful seasons in recent memory, four Orange Coast College baseball players earned their spots on the 2008 All-State and All-Southern California squads.

Sophomore centerfielder Cory Olson and freshman third baseman Drew Hillman were named to the 2008 All-State team, while freshman catcher Jourdan Watanabe and sophomore pitcher Brandon Dixon were selected to the 2008 All-Southern California team for the Pirates.

The UC Irvine-bound Olson (pictured left) followed up a sensational freshman season with a .346 batting average for the Pirates with a team-best 10 home runs and 45 RBIs. The speedy and powerful leadoff hitter for Coast also led the team with 19 stolen bases in 19 attempts. Olson finished his OCC career in the top-10 of several single-season and career offensive categories. He finished his Pirate career with a .361 batting average, 127 hits, 18 doubles, eight triples, 14 home runs, 88 runs scored and 77 RBI.

Hillman (pictured right) overcame some early back troubles to become a major force in the middle of the OCC lineup. The El Toro High School grad posted a .350 batting average with three home runs and 44 RBI (second only to Olson in that category). Hillman led the team with 16 doubles and was second behind Olson with 57 hits. His 27 RBI in the Orange Empire Conference was tops among all hitters in the OEC.

After earning the starting catcher spot, Watanabe's strong play on offense and defense made it his job to keep the entire season. The Northwood High School product (pictured left) finished second on the team with a .353 batting average and was second with seven home runs and third on the team with 40 RBI. His .549 slugging percentage and .416 on-base percentage were also near the top of the of the OCC stat lists.

Dixon (pictured right) came to OCC from Cypress College and he made the most of his one-year opportunity. The Point Loma Nazarene-bound lefty led the Pirates with 10 wins and his 111 1/3 innings and 77 strikeouts were near the top of any pitcher in the state. He became the second OCC pitcher in as many years to carry a no-hitter into the ninth inning and he became the first pitcher since 1989 to record 10-or-more wins in a season.