California
Community
Colleges
Commission on Athletics
Baseball Championship
Presented by U.S. Bank
May 27-29
Fresno City College
John Euless Field
Fresno, CA
Final
Four Facts for 2006
Compiled by members
of the California Community College Sports Information Association
Cypress
College - (41-10), State championships: 1991, 1994, 1997, 2003
Original Playoff Seed: No. 1 in Southern Calif.
The only one of four teams hosting last week's Super Regionals to reach the
Final Four. The Chargers are looking for state championship No. 5.
Winning the tough Orange Empire Conference at 20-4 is extremely impressive.
Head coach Scott Pickler is No. 7 on the California Community College Coaches
All-Time Career Winning List at 705-328-4 (.682).
Pickler and his staff have seen it all at the Final Four, so almost nothing
will surprise CC. Cypress won its last state championship in 2003. The Chargers
were runners-up at the Final Four in 2004. CC has seven championship game
appearances.
Long
Beach City College - (38-9), State Championships: 1954, 1968, 1969,
1976
Original Playoff Seed: No. 4 in Southern Calif.
Like Cypress, LBCC is seeking its 5th state championship and first since 1976.
LBCC's last state championship appearance was 1986 when the Vikings finished
third.
The Vikings have won 11 in-a-row and 22 of the last 25. LBCC is peaking at
the perfect time in the season. LBCC's season record is second only to the
1954 state championship Vikings team which the late Joe Hicks guided to a
school record, 39-6.
Under the guidance of Casey Crook, the Vikings are rekindling the legacy established
by Hicks and perpetuated by Ken Gaylord, now the head coach at Cerritos College.
LBCC has seven championship game appearances.
Sacramento
City College - (26-20), State Championships:1951, 1953, 1988, 1998,
1999
Original Seed: No. 11 in Northern Calif.
At 21-19 coming into the playoffs, these Panthers weren't as highly ranked
as SCC's lofty tradition dictates. Like Fresno City College, the Panthers
have had a winning tradition for over half a century. SCC pummeled the Rams,
Northern California's other traditional big winner, 12-1 on Sunday and here
they are again.
The fortunes of Andy McKay's Panthers turned with a 4-3 win in 11 eleven innings
at College of the Sequoias in game two of round one's best-of-three series.
SCC held off a COS comeback to win the decider, 6-4. Sacramento has made the
most state baseball championship game appearances in CCC history, 15 (5 titles,
10 runner-up finishes).
Winning a sixth state title would put SCC second only to Cerritos which has
nine.
Sierra College
- (35-14), State Championships: none, as yet.
Original Playoff Seed: No. 5 in Northern Calif.
This is the first state championship appearance for the Wolverines. Ironically,
Sierra is the No. 1 surviving seed from Northern Calif. After knocking off
defending state champion Santa Rosa, 9-7 on Tuesday in a rain-delayed wrap-up
to the West Valley regional, moved to Vacaville, Sierra will not likely be
intimidated by the state championship history and success of the other three
Final Four participants. Sierra made a stunning comeback in the ninth inning
to win Sunday's rain-delayed game, 7-6.
Santa Rosa came from unheralded status to win last year's title. Rob Willson's
Wolverines are probably saying 'why not us, too?'
