June 25, 2019
Irvine, CA

Connor Aoki (Binghamton) homered and hit an RBI-single in consecutive at bats and Andre Antone (UC Irvine) hit a solo home run, singled and scored the winning run in consecutive at bats as the Orange County Riptide scored five runs in their last two at bats to erase a four-run deficit and beat the Santa Barbara Foresters 5-4 tonight at Great Park Stadium. Stymied for the first six innings by the dominant outing of Foresters starting pitcher Isaac Coffey (Oral Roberts), the Riptide rallied for four runs as soon as Coffey left the game. Antone started the comeback right away, leading off the seventh inning with a solo home to get Orange County on the board. The second batter of the inning, Daniel Jung (Notre Dame), singled and then Aoki hit a two-run home run to get the Riptide within one. Joshua Solomon (Columbia) then walked, advanced to second on a wild pitch, advanced to third on a productive groundout and scored the tying run when Blake Evans (Georgia Southern) singled him in. Marrick Crouse, who entered the game in relief of Sean Higgins (Columbia) to start the seventh inning, retired the side in order in the eighth and, after Antone and Jung again got things stated for the Riptide with one out in their half of the inning by hitting one out singles, Aoki singled to drive Antone in with what proved to be the winning run. Crouse then pitched around Ross Cadena’s (Wichita State) third single of the game to lead off the ninth inning, stranding Cadena at second base after he advanced on a wild pitch by getting two fly outs and striking out the last batter to close out the win. The Orange County comeback spoiled a masterful pitching performance by Coffey. The righthander struck out nine in his six-inning outing and allowed only three singles, two of who were erased on the bases in the third inning via a caught-stealing and a line drive double play. Coffey faced the minimum three batters in four of his six innings, struck out the side in the second inning and had two or more strikeouts in four innings. Tyler Booth started on the mound for Orange County and surrendered all four of the Foresters runs in three and two-thirds innings while striking out five and allowing five hits. Cadena got Santa Barbara on the board with an RBI-single in the third inning and, after two walks, a single and two errors pushed another run across, Cadena hit a two-out two-run single to give the Foresters a 4-0 lead. Higgins, who surrendered Cadena’s second hit after relieving Booth, retired the next batter he faced to end the fourth and went on to strand runners in scoring position for two scoreless innings before turning the pitching duties over to Crouse who pitched a scoreless seventh and retired nine of the next ten batters he faced.

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Elsewhere around the CCL today:

Compton, CA

Drew Cowley (Cal Poly Pomona) hit a three-run home run, Andy Garriola (Old Dominion) hit a solo home run and Thomas Luevano (USD) hit a ninth inning, two-out, two-run single to lead the Arroyo Seco Saints to an 8-6 win over the Academy Barons tonight at the MLB Youth Academy. Cowley’s home run came in the sixth inning with the Saints trailing 5-1 after the Barons scored three times on three singles in the first inning, once in the second on a Christian Poche (New Orleans) two-out double and once in the third after Logan Pollack (Michigan) hit a leadoff double and eventually scored on a run-producing groundout, and the Saints scored once in the fifth on a Matt Thomas (Harvard) RBI-single. Cowley’s home run all but erased the outstanding pitching performance of Barons’ starting pitcher Brandon Mitchell (New Orleans). Mitchell retired the first eight batters in order, four by strikeouts, and eleven of the first twelve, allowing only one baserunner in his first four innings via a two-out walk in the third. The only blemish to Mitchell’s outing came after allowing his second walk to leadoff the fifth inning. That runner scored after stealing second base and Mitchell struck out his sixth batter when Thomas got his RBI-hit. Drew Atherton (Cal Poly Pomona) was the starting pitcher for the Saints and surrendered all five of the Barons’ run over two and two-thirds innings, giving up eight hits while striking out five. Race Gardner (Hawaii-Hilo) entered the game to pitch in relief of Atherton with the bases loaded and two outs in the third inning, retiring the next batter to limit the damage, and went on to retire the side in order in three of the next four innings to finish his performance with four and a third innings scoreless with five strikeouts. Gardner did not figure in the final decision because the Saints only tied the score while he was the pitcher of record when Garriola hit his home run in the seventh to make the score 5-5. It wasn’t until the ninth inning that the Saints took the lead and, again it was Garriola getting things going. Garriola singled to lead off the inning, stole second base, advanced to third on an error and, with two outs, scored the go-ahead run when Cowley walked with the bases loaded. Luevano then hit his two-run single to put the Saints up by three. Chris Burnette (Cal Poly Pomona) who relieved Gardner with one out and one on in the eighth inning, stranded the bases loaded in that inning without allowing a run, but could not close out the win in the ninth, surrendering a single and hitting two batters before handing the ball to Michael Hendricks (Lee) with the bases loaded and two outs to get. Hendricks walked the first batter he faced to allow the Barons sixth run but struck out the next two to save the win for the Saints.

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Thousand Oaks, CA

Today’s game between the San Luis Obispo Blues and the Conejo Oaks was suspended after nine innings with the score tied 5-5 due to darkness. The game will be resumed tomorrow at 4:30pm prior to the previously scheduled game between the same two teams at Sparky Anderson Field. Recaps of both games will be reported tomorrow night.

July 16, 2022

The California Collegiate League Showcase Game Selection Committee has announced the participants for the 2022 CCL Showcase Game presented by the Amateur Baseball Development Group (ABDG).

2022 North Division Roster

PitchersPos. CCL Team OutfieldersPos.CCL Team 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    
 Second Basemen  
 
 
    
    Shortstops  
Catchers   
 
    
 Third Basemen  
    
First Basemen   
    
    
       
Designated Hitters      
    
    

Manager // Bob Miller, SLO

South Division Roster

PitchersPos. CCL Team OutfieldersPos. CCL Team
 OF
 OF
 OF
 OF
 OF
 OF
    
 Second Basemen  
 2B
 2B
    
    Shortstops  
Catchers   SS
C SS
C    
C Third Basemen  
    3B
First Basemen   3B
1B    
1B    
       
Designated Hitters      
DH    
DH    

Manager // Aaron Milam, AS

—

Team Designations // MLB – MLB Academy Barons, AS – Arroyo Seco Saints, CON – Conejo Oaks, HLD – Healdsburg Prune Packers, LIN – Lincoln Potters, OCR – Orange County Riptide, SLO – San Luis Obispo Blues, SBF – Santa Barbara Foresters, SOL – Solano Mudcats, WCC – Walnut Creek Crawdads

By CCL Reporter Sean Brennan

(COMPTON, CA) – Terry Jordan, better known as TJ, doesn’t back down from any obstacles that stand in his way. Instead, he attacks them head-on.

This fearless mindset is why he moved nearly 400 miles from home to Los Angeles to pursue a sports management career. It’s also what helped him become the General Manager of the California Collegiate League’s MLB Academy Barons less than three years after receiving his bachelor’s degree.

And for the 31-year-old, a dauntless way of thinking is nothing new.

“I feel like that’s always been the case for me,” Jordan said. “When people say something’s impossible, I like to be ‘let me see if I can do this.’ I like that challenge, I feel like I’ve always had that.”

The earliest examples of his determination are from playing sports as a youth – specifically basketball. Despite being on the smaller side for his age, the Phoenix, Ariz. native often elected to join the older kids’ pickup games simply because it presented a bigger challenge. While his athletic days concluded after high school, Jordan knew his tenacious approach could apply to all walks of life.

“I always liked to challenge myself and my abilities against the older guys,” Jordan recalled. “I guess that’s where [my approach] transitioned from. I took that and instilled [it] into daily tasks and life in general.”

Jordan attended Arizona State University, where he’d work towards a degree in sports management. During his senior year in 2020, he landed an internship with a city’s recreation department. While the length of the internship was abbreviated due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Jordan benefitted from unique circumstances resulting in a heavy workload, a challenge he unsurprisingly welcomed with open arms.

“My supervisor…was going on maternity leave,” Jordan said. “It pretty much turned my internship into taking over for her…”

An expanded role quickly provided Jordan a true taste of working in sports, as his extensive list of responsibilities ranged from human resources like interviewing and training staff to operations like managing scheduling and equipment.

He felt he’d gained enough experience from this rigorous internship to make a career out of sports management and naturally, when an opportunity in the CCL arose, Jordan didn’t hesitate to pack his bags and head to the Golden State.

“I graduated from ASU, and I saw on Indeed that the Arroyo [Seco] Saints posted an internship,” Jordan said. “So I applied, got it, and ended up making the move from Arizona to California, just with the money I saved up. Because I knew it was going to be an unpaid internship, but I’ve been wanting to move out [to the Los Angeles area] since I was a little kid. So I had the chance to do that and work in sports, which I’m really passionate about.”

Jordan served as an operations intern for the Saints during the 2021 season, where his responsibilities included stadium operations, equipment management, and scoring games. Starting a career in a completely new city could be seen as daunting coming out of college, but not for Jordan, who pounced on the opportunity and became a dependable and well-respected member of the Saints’ staff.

And above all, his contributions in Pasadena eventually opened new doors for him.

“Getting that opportunity with the Saints was a really big stepping stone for me,” Jordan said. “That summer gave me so much experience and led to me seeing a post on LinkedIn for the [MLB Youth] Academy. It was as a baseball instructor role…“

Major League Baseball’s Urban Youth Academy is a not-for-profit organization that aims to ‘grow the game of baseball and softball while promoting diversity in all aspects of the game’ and ‘provide safe and organized recreational activities for youth.’ The Academy was founded in Compton, Calif. in 2006 and has produced MLB talent such as Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Trayce Thompson and New York Mets infielder Dominic Smith. Darrell Miller, the former catcher and outfielder for the California Angels, serves as Vice President of Facilities and Youth Development and oversees all day-to-day operations at the Academy.

The MLB Academy is also home to the Barons, one of the CCL’s 11 collegiate summer baseball organizations which provides players valuable competitive and developmental experience.

“During my interview process, they told me I’d be able to help with the Barons in the same way I was with the Saints,” Jordan said. “So that got me more experience with the press box setup, stats, and live scoring the games.”

Jordan’s tireless work paid off once again. Earlier this year, Jordan was named the Barons’ General Manager when his predecessor accepted a role with the Chicago Cubs, leaving an opening for the position. Not surprisingly, the Academy felt Jordan was the most qualified and named him GM of the Barons in February.

And of course, the best part for Jordan is the fact that he now has an even tougher task ahead of him.

“I love challenging myself and accepting challenges from other people who want to see me succeed,” Jordan said. “So I took that opportunity they gave me, and I’m just taking it full force, trying to give 110% and seeing where this opportunity can take me.”

At first, Jordan’s main goal was getting up to speed and gaining all the information necessary to operate a collegiate baseball program. He has quickly begun to assume all day-to-day responsibilities of the club.

Entering his first summer as the Barons’ GM, Jordan’s main objective is to make a positive impact on student-athletes. While baseball is what brings everyone at the Academy together, Jordan wants to help the organization and its players in every way possible.

“I want to show them I’m appreciative that they gave me the chance, I want to leave my mark,” Jordan said. “Whether that be with Barons players, parents, staff, anyone…I’ve still got that mental ability that I can give to the guys… Off the field, on the field, whatever way I can help them be a success in life in general.”

If history is any indication of what’s to come, Jordan and the Barons’ future is bright.