SPORTS ALL-SCV BASEBALL
Senior Hart pitcher was valuable asset in the dugout and on the mound throughout season
Despite being sidelined for a handful of games this season, Hart pitcher Bryce Collins still managed to make maximum impact.
When recovery from the flu and mono kept him away from the mound at the beginning of the season, Collins dispensed advice to younger players in the dugout and worked with veteran players and coaches on developing new drills.
“Just being able to talk to some of the younger guys, give my two cents to them, my opinions and things and bounce ideas off each other,” Collins said. “It was a learning environment for all of us.”
Once he was back in playing condition, it was like he never took a break.
With a Foothill League-leading .98 ERA, 86 strikeouts and six wins – one of which was a no-hitter – Bryce Collins is this year’s All-SCV Baseball Player of the Year.
Collins has been a pitcher for as long as he can remember and even before he was old enough to play the sport himself, he has memories of sitting on his dad’s lap as a toddler and watching his father toss a ball in the air for hours.
“Everything is on me,” said Collins of why he loves pitching. “The game is at the pace that I want it to and I’m involved in every single pitch. There’s no better feeling in the world than striking someone out. That’s the single greatest feeling.”
The feeling rivals that of the moment that Hart beat Valencia for the Foothill League title this season, though.
“Watching the game tick by, we started counting outs, we started to figure out that this is going to happen,” Collins said. “We got that huge bubble of excitement inside of us and when Rocco
made that catch in center, it just all came out … It just exploded into one moment that we could share with each other the rest of our lives.”
Collins was drafted in the 39th round of the 2018 MLB FirstYear Player Draft, but he’ll be continuing his baseball career at the University of Arizona.
“We’re going to take over college baseball,” Collins said. “We’re going to utterly dominate and its going to be fun to watch.”
First Team
Ryan Carolan, senior, Hart
Dubbed “Big Fish” by his teammates because of his love of fishing, Carolan was always reliable when the Indians fell on desperate times. He collected a leaguehigh eight wins on the season and finished with a 1.88 ERA. His 75 strikeouts ranked him second in the league. At the plate, he logged a .316 batting average.
Josh Cerpa, senior, Hart
Cerpa ended the season with a .352 batting average and led the league in doubles with 13. The Cal State Northridge commit’s RBI double boosted the Indians to a win over Saugus in late April.
Will Chambers, senior, West Ranch
With nine home runs in his final campaign with the Wildcats, Chambers ranks second in program history in terms of career homers with 11. He led the Foothill League in both home runs and RBIs this season, logging 40 in the latter category.
Luke Chung, senior, Valencia
Chung had the second-highest batting average in the league at .387 and had a league-high 41 hits – seven of which were doubles and one of which was a triple. He also stole 11 bases.
Hewitt Grissom, junior, Saugus
The second baseman recorded a .37 batting average to go with five
doubles and a home run. Grissom will be part of a strong returning offensive corps eager for a playoff bid next season.
Nolan Kutcher, junior, Saugus
Kutcher had the highest on-base percentage of all Foothill League players this season with .538. He had the fourth-best batting average at .379 and stole a total of 11 bases, which ties him with Chung for the best in the league.
Cade Nicol, junior, West Ranch
When returning Wildcats pitcher Alex Burge was sidelined due to arm pain, Nicol stepped in and flourished. By the end of the season, he was second to Collins in terms of ERA at 1.51. He recorded 51 strikeouts and gave up 21 runs.
Cole Roederer, senior, Hart
Despite battling injuries throughout the season, Roederer was one of the most offensively productive players all season, leading the league with a .392 batting average. After hitting seven home runs and logging 19 RBIs, Roederer was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the 2018 First-Year Player Draft.
Lukas White, senior, Valencia
White was a leader on the mound, at the plate and in the dugout for the Vikings. In 75 1/3 innings, he struck out 71 batters and collected seven wins. Offensively, he had a .378 batting average with 28 RBIs and five home runs.
Second Team
Jake Biscailuz, senior, Valencia
Valencia’s catcher and Olivet Nazarene University commit logged a .345 batting average with 30 hits, six doubles and two home runs.
Matt Broadwater, senior, Golden Valley
Broadwater was a leader for the Grizzlies and had a .571 on-base percentage in five games, according to MaxPreps.com.
Ryan Camacho, junior, West Ranch
Camacho was one-third of a dangerous Wildcats outfield and also had a .382 batting average with eight doubles, three triples and 20 RBIs.
Davis Cop, junior, Valencia
As part of a Valencia team that upset No. 1 seed Harvard Westlake in the CIF-SS Division 1 playoffs, Cop had a .336 batting average with 38 hits.
Trever Coogan, senior, Hart
The Indians’ catcher broke his hand in a game in early May, but managed to bat .367 with a home run until he was sidelined.
Brandyn Cruz, junior, Saugus
The Cal State Northridge commit ended the year with a 2.48 ERA and recorded 48 K’s after 48 innings.
Charles Harrison, junior, Canyon
In 63 innings, Harrison struck out 72 of the batters he faced on a Canyon team that finished with a winning record for the first time since 2013.
Cody Jefferis, senior, Hart
On an Indians team that saw a plethora of players step up, Jefferis batted .36 with five doubles.
Nicholas Perez, sophomore, West Ranch
The underclassman catcher led the league with a .994 fielding percentage in addition to 148 putouts. At the plate, he was .341.
Honorable Mention
Canyon – Cebastian Arriaga, junior
Golden Valley – Cameron Pfafman, senior Hart – Brooks Statley, senior Saugus – Chase Lindemann, senior SCCS – Riley Peterson, senior SCVi – Chris Vaiz, sophomore Trinity – Andrew Pfeiffer, junior
Valencia – Mitchell Torres, sophomore
West Ranch – Christos Stefanos, senior