BC's Patton, Caggianelli headline postseason baseball honors

Jul. 1—The Bakersfield College baseball team was rewarded for its successful — albeit abbreviated — season with several individual honors this season.

Sophomores Matt Patton and Benji Caggianelli were named to the All-Southern California State team, and were also acknowledged as first-team All-Western State Conference along with pitchers Gabriel Ulloa and Brock Barron, who helped guide the Renegades to an 18-7 record overall and 15-5 in WSC play.

"We were excited," BC coach Tim Painton said. "I was excited for the guys who received postseason honors, and excited for our group in general, because of what they had to get through or go through to play a season. It was challenging. Most of the guys from February to the end of our season in June, COVID tested probably 25 times. So that was a challenge in itself.

"What they did away from the field we tried to monitor as best we could. So I was proud of our group. To make it through a season unscathed ... I think we had a false-positive where we missed three games early in the preseason, and other than that, we were able to complete our schedule. So that's a win in itself."

Patton, an outfielder from Liberty, led the Renegades' offensive attack with a team-high .359 batting average, 23 RBIs, and 14 extra-base hits, including 11 doubles, and also had seven stolen bases. He is not planning to continue his baseball career, according to Painton.

Caggianelli, a Ridgeview grad who has committed to play at Cal State Bakersfield, provided shutdown relief as the team's closer, finishing with five saves in 14 appearances and a 1.13 ERA. The save total was second in the state behind College of the Sequoias' Jason Freisen's eight. The 6-foot-4, 205-pound right-hander had 30 strikeouts and 14 walks in 16 innings pitched, and has an outside chance of being selected in the MLB draft, which runs July 11-13.

Ulloa, a sophomore right-hander from Delano who has also committed to CSUB, was BC's No. 1 starter, finishing 4-0 with a 2.70 ERA, with all four decisions coming in conference play. Barron, a freshman left-hander from Liberty, finished 4-1 with 3.18 ERA, but was at his best in WSC play, posting a 3-0 record with a 2.28 ERA.

"I'm certainly very happy," Painton said. "Brock Barron made some big, big strides this year, and Benji Caggianelli moved from a starting pitcher to the backend because I felt like he was going to manage that better, which he did. And I was happy for Matt Patton, who was a fourth-year player for us.

Patton had to redshirt his first season at BC after suffering a torn labrum in his left arm while diving for a ball as a senior at Liberty. His time as a Renegade was extended last year when the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the second half of the 2020 season.

"So I was really happy for the season he was able to put together," Painton said. "And he wound up being an all-state player."

Bakersfield College also had four players named to the WSC second team, and three more listed as honorable mention.

Shortstop Jose Ruiz, a freshman from Ridgeview, outfielders Will Reynolds from Frontier and Jacob Baker from Bakersfield, and sophomore right-handed pitcher Eduardo Barraza were named to the second team.

Ruiz hit .322 and was second on the team with 22 RBIs and six doubles. Reynolds, a sophomore, hit .333 with a home run and 12 RBIs, while freshman Baker hit .298 with a home run, seven RBIs and a team-high 10 stolen bases. He was also hit by a pitch an amazing 14 times and earned a gold glove for his defense.

Barraza was another of the Renegades strong starting pitchers, finishing with a 1.91 ERA and 4-1 record. The left-hander from Wasco had surgery after tearing his ACL late in the season, but is still planning to play at Oregon Tech, an NAIA college located in Klamath Falls. Despite the injury, the school is planning to honor their scholarship offer to Barraza and wait for him to recover for next year or 2023, Painton said.

Freshman catcher Mark Ribeiro, freshman third baseman Garrett Pavletich from Liberty and freshman pitcher Kyle Langston were named honorable mention.

Ribeiro, a freshman from Tulare-Mission Oak, hit .324 with eight RBIs, while Pavletich batted .259 with six RBIs. Pavletich has committed to play next year at Peru State, an NAIA college in Nebraska, along with Reynolds and sophomore outfielder Wes Bradford from Bakersfield Christian. Langston, a right-hander from Bakersfield Christian, was 3-2 with a 3.76 ERA in seven appearances, including five starts.

"It is a special group because of the challenges they had to go through," Painton said. "And I think the guys returning it will make them better. I think the guys that have moved on and are going to continue to play, I think that will make them better, as well. Just a good year."