Peninsula Daily News
PORT ANGELES — Port Angeles Lefties second baseman Jason Dicochea earned second-team All-West Coast League honors in voting announced by WCL commissioner Rob Neyer.
The incoming junior at Santa Clara University tallied the league’s fifth-highest batting average (.336) along with seven home runs, 11 doubles and 23 RBIs.
Dicochea’s Lefties teammates Trevor Rosenberg (shortstop, San Diego), Evan Pace (catcher, Southeastern Louisiana), Dalton Harum (outfield, Virginia Tech), Tyler Oldenberg (pitcher, Seattle), Tristan Busse (pitcher, Western Texas) were named honorable mention.
Tinglestad MVP
Incoming Louisiana-Monroe slugger Trent Tinglestad of the Kelowna Falcons was tabbed as the WCL’s MVP. Tinglestad led the circuit in home runs this summer with nine and had a .350 batting average in 44 games. The Marysville native helped lead the Falcons to the team’s second WCL Championship Series appearance in franchise history.
Pitchers honored
A pair of impressive hurlers were named the league’s co-Pitcher of the Year. VCU’s Curtis Bafus from the Wenatchee AppleSox and University of San Francisco standout Landen Bourassa of the Corvallis Knights both posted outstanding numbers.
Bafus finished with a league’-high 72 strikeouts while Bourassa had a league-low 1.96 ERA, and both pitchers started in the 2018 WCL All-Star Game in Port Angeles; Bafus for the North and Bourasssa for the South.
Top Prospect
Matt McClain from the Bellingham Bells was recognized with the WCL’s newest honor, the Top Prospect Award. McClain, who is heading into his freshman season at UCLA, was selected in the first round of this year’s Major League Baseball Draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks with the 25th overall pick but opted not to sign.
He got his first taste of college baseball in preparation for his time with the Bruins playing in the WCL this summer with the Bells.
Coaches share
Coach of the Year honors were shared by Justin Barchus and Bryan Donohue. Barchus guided the Portland Pickles to the WCL’s best overall record at 37-17. Donohue guided Kelowna to the post-season, capped off by an appearance in the WCLCS.
Bells executive
Bellingham’s Glenn Kirkpatrick was honored as the Executive of the Year for his contributions to the league. Kirkpatrick just completed his first season as the owner of the Bells.
The Bellingham Bells and Kelowna Falcons were co-recipients of the Jim Dietz Team Sportsmanship Award.
The Corvallis Knights and Kelowna Falcons were tied as the most represented squad on the All-WCL first team, each featuring three selections.
First-Team All-WCL
C – Cole Hamilton (Linn Benton CC, soph), Corvallis Knights
1B – Connor McCord (Western Oregon, junior), Wenatchee AppleSox
2B – Gio Diaz (St. Mary’s, soph), Portland Pickles
3B – Taylor Wright (Maryland, senior), Kelowna Falcons
SS – Ernie Yake (Gonzaga, soph), Bellingham Bells
OF – Trent Tinglestad (Louisiana-Monroe, junior), Kelowna Falcons
OF – Kyle Dean (Cal State Monterey Bay, junior), Yakima Valley Pippins
OF – Cody Hawken (Portland, senior), Corvallis Knights
UTL – Collin Runge (Portland, senior), Bend Elks
SP – Landen Bourassa (San Francisco, senior), Corvallis Knights
SP – Curtis Bafus (VCU, senior), Wenatchee AppleSox
SP – Bryce Moyle (Washington State, soph), Walla Walla Sweets
SP – Nick Nastrini (UCLA, frosh), Bellingham Bells
SP – Cullen Kafka (Oregon, soph), Yakima Valley Pippins
RP – Cal Hehnke (Nebraska-Omaha, senior), Kelowna Falcons
RP – Theron Kay (Cal State Northridge, senior), Bellingham Bells
All-WCL Second-Team
C – Noah Cardenas (UCLA, frosh), Portland Pickles
C – Victor Cerny (Cal State Northridge, soph), Yakima Valley Pippins
1B – Nick Nyquist (Gonzaga, senior), Walla Walla Sweets
1B – Dan Pruitt (Seminole State College, soph), Kelowna Falcons
2B – Jason Dicochea (Santa Clara, junior), Port Angeles Lefties
3B – Zach Needham (Lewis-Clark State College, junior), Bellingham Bells
SS – Beau Philip (Oregon State, junior), Corvallis Knights
OF – Chandler Anderson (Utah, senior), Corvallis Knights
OF – Johnny Sage (Purdue, junior), Wenatchee AppleSox
OF – Ryan Kim (Portland, junior), Cowlitz Black Bears
UTL – Carson Breshears (Gonzaga, senior), Portland Pickles
SP – Zach Heaton (Dallas Baptist, frosh), Cowlitz Black Bears
SP – Brad McVay (Portland, soph), Portland Pickles
SP – Trevor Brigden (Okanagan College, senior), Kelowna Falcons
SP – Chase Farrell (UCLA, soph), Yakima Valley Pippins
SP – Hunter Boyd (College of Idaho, senior), Wenatchee AppleSox
RP – Justin Armbruester (Pacific Lutheran, soph), Bellingham Bells
RP – Taylor Davis (Gonzaga, senior), Bellingham Bells
