Joyce, Thompson get top WSC honors
By Dave Loveton, sports information
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
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Chris Joyce struck out 16 Moorpark batters in eight innings.
He's second in the state with 97 strikeouts on the year.
Joyce named WSC’s top pitcher
Thompson is Coach of Year; 12 make All-WSC North
Chris Joyce was chosen WSC North Pitcher of the Year after a dominant baseball campaign for conference-champion SBCC.
Joyce, a sophomore left-hander from Dos Pueblos High, went 4-0 in conference and led the six-team circuit in ERA (1.20),
strikeouts (71 in 45 innings) and opponents batting average (.140). He struck out 16 Moorpark batters in eight innings on
March 10 and pitched a one-hitter with 12 strikeouts in a 5-0 late-season win over Cuesta that broke a first-place tie.
Joyce is second in the state with 97 strikeouts.
It’s the second straight Pitcher of the Year honor for SBCC. Zak Edgington, who’s now pitching for UCSB, was last year’s
top WSC pitcher.
Ryan Thompson was selected as Coach of the Year in his first season. The former Dos Pueblos High multi-sport standout led
Santa Barbara to a 22-14 record and a 15-5 WSC North mark that was two games better than Cuesta.
“This is really the ‘Coaching Staff of the Year’ award,” said Thompson.
Twelve Vaqueros made the All-WSC North squad, led by five pitchers. Santa Barbara’s pitching staff was first in conference
with a 2.63 ERA and 181 strikeouts in 20 games (9.4 per game).
First-team choices included outfielders Colt McLaughlin and Joey Epperson, along with pitchers Joyce, Kylin Turnbull and
reliever DJ Gunderson. As unanimous selections, McLaughlin, Turnbull and Gunderson are nominees for the All-Southern Cal team.
Joyce is an automatic All-Southern Cal choice.
Outfielder Cody Giordano, the Vaqueros’ leading hitter (.344) and base stealer (11), was a second-team selection as were
infielders Daniel Howell (4 homers) and Andrew Smith, outfielder Chito Elias, pitcher Colby Morse and reliever Anthony Perry.
Third baseman Robert Vickers was honorable mention and a Gold Glove choice.
SBCC was seeded No. 7 for the Southern Cal Regional and will host Riverside on Friday at 2 p.m. in the opener of a best-of-3
series.
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