Junior College Top 25: March 10 | Bickford painting corners for CSN
California
junior colleges often don’t get the recognition they deserve
nationally because they are not members of the National Junior
College Athletic Association and don’t participate in the annual
Junior College World Series, but every once in a while the state
produces a team that can’t be overlooked.
It
happened a year ago when a pitching-rich Orange Coast College club
captured a state title to claim the No. 1 spot in Perfect Game’s
final ranking of the nation’s top junior colleges. And that
scenario is in the process of repeating itself this spring as
California’s San Joaquin Delta College has raced out to a perfect
20-0 record to secure its place atop PG’s junior-college rankings
at roughly the mid-point of the 2015 season. The Mustangs moved into
the top spot two weeks ago with their undefeated start and remain
safely entrenched with six more wins.
“This
club is very similar to last year’s club,” said coach Reed
Peters, who guided the Mustangs to a state title in 2011 and
runner-up finish to Orange Coast a year ago. “We’re strong up the
middle with Collin Theroux catching, Jacob Thomas at shortstop and
Nate Easley in center field. Our lineup is a little deeper overall,
and we have a deeper bench.”
Theroux,
an Oklahoma State recruit and the team’s top position talent for
the 2015 draft, leads the Mustangs with five homers and 20 RBIs,
while hitting .286.
“Our
pitching depth is similar to last year, but our starters have been
more consistent,” Peters added. “The big difference this year is
we have not beaten ourselves so far and we have capitalized on
opponents’ mistakes.”
Delta’s
obvious strength is its three-man rotation of freshman lefthander
Cameron Avila-Leeper (7-0, 1.89), a 29th-round pick of the
Minnesota Twins in the 2014 draft; red-shirt freshman Dean Kremer
(5-0, 2.23), a Nevada-Las Vegas recruit, and sophomore righthander
Ricky Delgado (5-0, 2.04), who began his career at Cal State
Fullerton in 2012. That trio has helped the Mustangs post a
collective 2.00 ERA.
The
top three spots in PG’s latest Top 25 remain unchanged, with two
Florida schools (St. Johns River and Chipola) holding steady at Nos.
2 and 3, but the remainder of the rankings experienced a significant
shakeup with seven new entrants, led by Hinds (Miss.) at No. 13.
Through games of March 22, 2015
Rk. |
Prev. |
Team |
ST |
Record |
1 |
1 |
San Joaquin Delta |
CA |
20-0 |
2 |
2 |
St. Johns River |
FL |
30-5 |
3 |
3 |
Chipola |
FL |
26-7 |
4 |
14 |
Cowley County |
KS |
24-1 |
5 |
10 |
Iowa Western |
IA |
17-3 |
6 |
6 |
Weatherford |
TX |
20-3 |
7 |
17 |
Walters State |
TN |
26-5 |
8 |
15 |
Gulf Coast State |
FL |
24-9 |
9 |
11 |
San Jacinto |
TX |
20-11 |
10 |
4 |
Florence-Darlington |
SC |
22-7 |
11 |
8 |
Palm Beach State |
FL |
26-9 |
12 |
23 |
Palomar |
CA |
17-4 |
13 |
NR |
Hinds |
MS |
18-1 |
14 |
NR |
Fresno |
CA |
19-3 |
15 |
5 |
Johnson County |
KS |
21-7 |
16 |
16 |
Cochise |
AZ |
28-8 |
17 |
NR |
Mesa |
AZ |
28-5 |
18 |
7 |
Southern Nevada |
NV |
22-10 |
19 |
19 |
Grayson |
TX |
17-9 |
20 |
NR |
Santa Fe |
FL |
21-5 |
21 |
21 |
Seminole State |
OK |
16-6 |
22 |
9 |
Howard |
TX |
16-8 |
23 |
NR |
Oxnard |
CA |
16-4 |
24 |
NR |
Polk State |
FL |
22-8 |
25 |
NR |
Delgado |
LA |
21-5 |
Dropped out: No. 12 Alvin, Texas (23-7); No. 13 State College of Florida-Manatee (23-10); No. 18 Cypress, Calif. (16-6); No. 20 Wabash Valley, Ill. (14-9); No. 22 LSU-Eunice (19-6); No. 24 Northwest Florida State (22-8); No. 25 Riverside, Calif. (16-7).