Baseball: Braves, Conqs and Pirates earn All-Channel League honors

A Dos Pueblos star is the league's Most Valuable Player, a San Marcos ace is the Pitcher of the Year and there are only two North County players on the All-Channel League First Team.

Ryan Speshyock, the Dos Pueblos star, won his second straight Channel League MVP honor. He's a junior committed to play for Stanford.

Chase Hoover, the San Marcos ace and a senior who's signed with TCU, was named the league's Pitcher of the Year.

Speshyock hit .351 in 25 games for the Chargers this past season, scoring 18 times and driving in 23 runs while hitting three homers. Fairly decent offensive numbers, yes, but Speshyock shined on the mound. He went 5-4 with a 0.76 ERA in 11 starts. He threw three complete games and two shutouts with one no-hitter. He struck out 103 batters in 64 1/3 innings and walked just 22. Last season as a sophomore, Speshyock struck out 107 batters in 61 1/3 innings to be named Channel League MVP.

Hoover had a 1.43 ERA in 12 games this season, striking out 92 batters in 54 innings.

North County schools Lompoc, Cabrillo and Santa Ynez will no longer have to worry about fighting for league wins and All-League honors against the Santa Barbara schools. Those three northern Santa Barbara County schools are moving to the CIF Central Section and the Central Coast Athletic Association this school year, joining forces with athletic programs in the Santa Maria Valley and San Luis Obispo County.

San Marcos won the Channel League title with a 13-2 league mark. Dos Pueblos went 11-4 in league, Santa Barbara was 9-6 and Lompoc went 6-9. Santa Ynez went 5-10 in league but was 17-12 overall. Cabrillo was 1-14 in the Channel League and 7-18  overall. 

First Team

There's one North County player that surely contended with Speshyock and Hoover for one of the top Channel League individual honors. That is, of course, Santa Ynez senior Jackson Cloud. His offensive numbers are First Team worthy. Cloud's pitching numbers are Pitcher of the Year worthy. Combined, they certainly had him in the MVP conversation.

Cloud was nearly unstoppable at the plate, hitting .395 on the season with 32 hits in 81 at bats. He scored 21 times, drove in 25 and smacked nine doubles with one home run.

Cloud was dynamite on the hill. He had a 1.04 ERA in 15 starts, going 9-1 with three complete games and two shutouts. He also had a save. Cloud threw a remarkable amount of innings, finishing the year with 94 2/3. He struck out 130 batters and walked 33, allowing just 14 earned runs on the season. Cloud had a Shohei Ohtani-like season for the Pirates. (Ohtani, the LA Angels' star, is the reigning American League MVP in the majors).

Cloud helped the Pirates make the CIF Southern Section Division 6 semifinals. He struck out 13 and allowed just one hit in 7 1/3 innings in his final high school appearance, earning a no-decision in the 1-0 loss to eventual CIF champ Estancia in the semifinals.

There's plenty of talent in the Lompoc Valley that more than held their own against the Santa Barbara competition. Lompoc senior Bridger Coleman is the lone Brave on the First Team. Coleman had a stellar final season in the blue and white, hitting .412 on the year, leading Lompoc in hits and batting average. He had 35 hits in 85 at bats with 20 runs, 24 RBIs, six doubles, a triple and two homers.

San Marcos has four players on the First Team in seniors Joaquin Sandoval and Emmett Speaker and juniors Cole Schoenwetter and Brandon Cekada. Dos Pueblos has four players on the First Team in seniors Dylan Bailey, Kellen Montgomery, Jordan Rico and Josh Brennan.

Santa Barbara senior Vince Gamberdella and junior Dane Dawson are also on the First Team.

Second Team

Cabrillo High has its first All-League honorees on the Second Team in sophomore Spencer Gallimore and freshman Blake Gregory.

Gallimore was solid at the plate, hitting .268 with 19 hits. He scored eight times and added seven RBIs. He was Cabrillo's most reliable pitcher, going 2-8 with a 4.61 ERA in a team-high 57 2/3 innings. He struck out 33 batters and walked 10 on the year.

Blake Gregory is another in a long line of brothers in the Cabrillo program. He handled the tough Channel League competition just fine as a freshman, hitting .239 with 11 runs, nine RBIs, four doubles, three triples and a homer.

Santa Ynez has two players on the Second Team in senior catcher Mikey Gills and junior power-hitter Caleb Cassidy. Gills hit .239 on the year with 21 hits, 15 runs, 14 RBIs, four doubles and a homer. Cassidy had a breakout season, hitting .337 with 28 hits in 83 at bats, adding 13 runs, 31 RBIs, seven doubles, two triples and three homers. He slugged .578 on the season.

Lompoc has two more players on the Second Team in Brandon Brickey, a senior shortstop, and Jacob Escobedo, a junior infielder.

Brickey was second on the team in hits with 27. He hit .403 on the year with 17 runs, 14 RBIs, seven doubles, two triples and a home run.

Escobedo hit .386 with 27 hits on the year. He scored 10 times, drove in 15 runs and smacked a team-high 10 doubles.

San Marcos senior Nicky Fell, Dos Pueblos junior Joe Talarico and Santa Barbara's Eric Anthony, Cal Wipf and Kai Mault are also on the Second Team.

Honorable Mention

Cabrillo High has senior Fernando Calderon and sophomore Gage Mattis on the Honorable Mention team.

Calderon hit .206 on the season with 14 hits, 12 runs, nine RBIs, three doubles and a homer. Mattis was second on Cabrillo in innings pitched with 38 1/3. He struck out 36 batters and walked 17 while accumulating a 2.56 ERA.

Lompoc seniors Jordan Scott and Gabe Hirzel also earned Honorable Mention recognition. Hirzel hit .313 on the year with 26 hits, 13 runs, 13 RBIs, five doubles and two homers.

Scott hit .319 with 23 hits, 13 runs, seven RBIs and three doubles. Coleman, Scott and Hirzel tied for the team lead with two homers apiece.

Santa Ynez has four players on the Honorable Mention team in seniors Owen Hunt, Vic Heredia and Tanner Padfield and sophomore Adam Stephens.

Hunt was a driving force for the Santa Ynez offense while also performing on the mound. He hit .333 with 34 hits on the season. He scored 23 times, drove in 18 and hit seven doubles and a home run. He also pitched in 17 games and threw one complete game with a 3.20 ERA in 35 innings.

Padfield was a major run producer for the Pirates, hitting .267 on the year with 23 hits, 13 runs, 17 RBIs, one double, one triple and a home run.

Stephens hit .345 on the year with 29 hits in 84 at bats, adding 18 runs and three RBIs.

Heredia wrapped up a stellar career at Santa Ynez with another strong season. Though he missed some time during the season, Heredia hit .381 in 20 games with 24 hits, 23 runs, 13 RBIs, six doubles, a triple and three home runs. He also battled on the mound, going 3-4 with a 4.64 ERA in 25 2/3 innings, striking out 37 batters. For his career, Heredia had 170 strikeouts in 142 innings with a 2.07 ERA. He also hit .350 for his career with 79 hits in 75 games with 70 runs, 42 RBIs, 18 doubles, six triples and four homers.

San Marcos juniors Owen Estabrook, Darren Orlando and Caden Hodina and senior Aidan Mandel are on the Honorable Mention team. Dos Pueblos has Gino Darke, Jesse Di Maggio and Arjun Gunda on the Honorable Mention team.