TAKING THE HORNETS TO NEW HEIGHTS
Chad Baum, head coach for Fullerton College Baseball team has made multiple impacts on the team for his upcoming 5th season. From taking the team to the SoCal Regional finals last season to sending multiple players onto bigger and better things at 4-year colleges to continue their baseball and educational path.
Jared Benash: A solid infielder, Benash was one of the first to sign afte the season after deciding to sign with the Univeristy of La Verne. In 150 at-bats, Benash batted .260 with 39 hits. He accumualted 24 runs and 24 RBI.
Michael Curatolo: Michael is a right-handed pitcher with an ERA of 1.96. He has made 10 game appearances 5 of which are in conference. Curatolo pitched 18.1 innings and had 12 strikeouts. He managed to have 5.89 strikeouts per game with 1 putout overall. This past month he made the decision to continue his educational studies and further his baseball career at the University of La Verne.
Haku Dudoit: Haku was a catcher for the Hornets, who had a batting average of .267. He made 27 game appearances 11 which are conference. Along with game appearances, Dudoit has had 101 at bats, 14 RBIs, 12 stolen bases and 133 putouts and 4 errors. (975 fielding.) In the past month the sophomore has made the decision to continue at Concordia University, Irvine.
Tank Espalin: Tank is a freshman infielder for Fullerton College, who finished last season with FC with a batting average of .315. Tank had 48 game appearances, 181 at bats (83 conference), brought in 29 RBIs, stole 12 bases and finished with 394 putouts. He also had only 5 errors which resulted in a .988 fielding percentage. He signed with Concordia University, Irvine to enhance his future in baseball.
Ryan Flores: A right-handed pitcher, Flores signed with Westcliff University soon after the 2023 season ended.
Bryce Gamble: A catcher, Bryce finished the season with a .245 batting average. Gamble had 23 game appearances 6 of which were conference games. He finished with 53 at bats, brought in 8 RBIs, had 1 stolen base,3 putouts and 0 errors which is a 1.000 fielding percentage. In the past months he made the decision to commit to Brescia University.
Kaipo Haole: Haole was a third baseman and a first baseman for Fullerton College who recently signed with Concordia University, Irvine. During his time at FC, he accomplished a batting average of .229 and had 35 game appearances, 15 of which are conference games. Kaipo had 96 at bats, accomplished 17 RBIs, 2 stolen bases and 14 putouts all together. Kaipo finished with 11 errors which gave him a fielding percentage of .851.
Elie Kligman: A switch-hitting catcher, Kligman finished last season with a .232 batting average and finished with 31 game appearances and 14 conference games. With 99 at bats, 16 RBIs, 1 stolen base and 1 error which is a .933 fielding percentage he made the decision to commit to California State University, Sacramento.
Isaiah Marquez: An outfielder on the Hornet squad, Marquez finished his sophomore season with a batting average of .250 and had 48 game appearances. He committed to California State University, Los Angeles and completed the sophomore season with 184 at bats, brought in 34 RBIs, stole 7 bases and finished with 116 putouts. All while managing this, Isaiah had only an error which gave him a .992 fielding percentage.
Masen McDonnell: Masen, a right-handed pitcher, had a great season for the Hornets last season. McDonnell finished the 2023 season with an ERA of 5.61, had 12 game appearances and started 10 games, made the decision to commit to CSU Bakersfield. Along with game appearances accomplished 51.1 innings pitched, 35 strikeouts and averaged 6.14 strikeouts per game and 3 putouts.
Nathan McManus: A left-handed pitcher, McManus finished the season with an ERA of 3.25 and had 16 game appearances and pitched 36 innings. He averaged 32 strikeouts along with 8 strikeouts per game and 1 putout. This past month he made the decision to commit to the University of Arkansas at Monticello.
Nick Ochoa: Ochoa was a catcher for the Hornets and completed last season with a batting average of .214. After careful consideration he made the decision to commit to Northern State University. In his last season he had 10 game appearances 4 of which are conference games, 14 at bats and had 3 RBIs. He completed with 28 putouts and had no errors (1.000 fielding percentage.)
Last season's team was full of young and talented players who made it to the Socal Regional Finals. With the help of Coach Chad Baum these 12 players made it to 4-year universities to continue working towards a higher standing in their baseball careers. With many returners and some new talented players, the sky is the limit for what this team can accomplish for the upcoming 2024 season.
*Story by Kailee Avina
