Pictured is: Michael Flores, who will get the ball for Mt. SAC in game one.

JC Baseball:

Cypress (21-9) at Mt. SAC (32-8)

On paper, the Cypress-Mt. SAC best-of-three playoff series looks like a mismatch.

The Mounties won 11 more games than the Chargers in the regular season, and MSAC enters Friday’s contest as the SCC’s South Coast’s co-champs, while Cypress finished fourth in Orange Empire play.

But as John Knott and his players know well, there’s no such thing as mismatch in baseball.

Michael Flores will get the ball in game one.

Flores is 11-1 with a 2.99 ERA.

He’s got a 4-1, strikeout-to-walk ratio (61-14).

The Mounties offense averages just over 10 runs per game, and they have 10 players with a batting average of .333 or better.

MSAC has won 22 of their last 24 games, while Cypress has lost three straight and are 5-6 over their last 11.

The Mounties-Chargers survivor will battle the Riverside-Grossmont winner in the Super Regional round.

At the bottom of this story is a head-to-head statistical comparison, as well as individual stat leaders for hitters and pitchers of both programs.

In spite of being ranked sixth, Mt. SAC has to like their chances of a successful playoff run, thanks to an incredibly deep lineup, including their pitching staff.

The Mounties have a team ERA of 4.41 and they’re hit at a .344 clip.

Cypress’ lone advantage over MSAC, it seems, is a 50-21 in home runs this season.

Lastly, I asked Coach Knott to touch on the statistical mismatch, what is crucial in earning a first-round series victory at what strengths Cypress has.

Quotable:

Mt. SAC coach, John Knott: “Cypress has been one of the best programs in the state for a long time. We have played them each year I have been here at Mt. SAC. We have a ton of respect for their staff and players and know they will be prepared. They also hit 50 home runs as a team and have several good arms. Even if the circumstances change, the game shouldn’t. You still have to play good baseball; pitching needs to be consistent, minimize walks, attack hitters and you have to make the routines plays defensively. Offensively, we need to minimize our strikeouts and have timely hitting with discipline. It’s the same thing we been preaching the entire year, just the window for failure is less being a short series.

As a team, I would say we are playing well and have been finding different ways to win, however, there are always things specifically you need to work on; Offensively continue to work with two strikes, better reads on the bases, better two strike pitches, and minimizing our walks. It’s constant and the best teams realize they are learning and need to continue to grow if they want to move on. It’s not a mismatch at all. They run a great program and will be very competitive. The cool thing about this playoff format is if you lose a game, you get another chance to make adjustments and try again. Baseball is a sport of failure, but you can’t focus on the results, because if you do, the pressure will magnify. Its much easier said then done, but I think our guys will be ready to compete and play hard. So will Cypress.”

By the Numbers:
Records: C (21-19); MSAC (32-8)
Conference Finish: C (fourth in Orange Empire); MSAC (South Coast co-champs)
Total Runs Scored: C (292); MSAC (409)
Runs Allowed: C (321); MSAC (213)
Team Batting Average: C (315); MSAC (.344)
Team ERA: C (6.83); MSAC (4.41)
Home Runs Hit: C (50); MSAC (21)
Current Streak: C (lost three); MSAC (won one)
Mt. SAC Home Record: (19-3)
Cypress’ Road Record: (6-10)

Stat Leaders:

Pitching:
Trey Seeley, Cypress (2-1, 4.60 ERA & 40 strikeouts)
Nick Bautista, Cypress: (2-4, 5.10, 69 strikeouts)
Andrew Kotin, Cypress: (0-5, 7.51, 13 strikeouts)
Michael Flores, MSAC: (11-1, 2.99, 61 strikeouts)
Jeff Isenhart, MSAC: (6-0, 3.40, 53 strikeouts)
Trent Merrill, MSAC: (4-0, 2.61, 25 strikeouts)
Alec Beck, MSAC: (3-1, 5.45, 24 strikeouts)
Damian Torres, MSAC: (2-1, 3.68, 23 strikeouts)

Batting:
Brent Cota, MSAC: (.430. 71 hits, 43 RBIs)
Elijah Pelayo, MSAC: (.333, 52 hits, 32 RBIs)
Nin Burns, MSAC: (.361, 52 hits, 31 RBIs)
Cristian Enriquez, MSAC: (.354, 51 hits, 49 RBIs)
Blake Borgogno, MSAC: (.333, 45 hits, 35 RBIs)
Will Bermudez, MSAC: (.390, 48 hits, 32 RBIs)
CJ Ontiveros, MSAC: (.328, 38 hits, 33 RBIs)
Art Ruiz, MSAC: (.289, 33 hits, 30 RBIs)
Robbie Mansour, MSAC: (307, 23 hits, 16 RBIs)
Damien Delgadillo, MSAC: (.357, 25 hits, 10 RBIs)
Luke Honikel, Cypress: (.342, 52 hits, 23 RBIs)
Noah Karliner, Cypress: (.310, 45 hits, 30 RBIs)
Eddie Hacopian, Cypress: (.413, 57 hits, 20 RBIs)
Dean Toigo, Cypress: (.258, 33 hits, 27 RBIs)
Brenden Harris, Cypress: (.434, 46 hits, 24 RBIs)

Cypress-Mt. SAC Schedule:
Friday: Cypress at Mt. SAC at 1
Saturday: Cypress at Mt. SAC at Noon
Saturday: Cypress at Mt. SAC at 3 (if necessary)

2022 SCC Standings:
Mt. SAC (32-8 overall, 19-5 in conference)
LBCC (28-12, 19-5)
El Camino (29-11, 17-7)
PCC (27-13, 15-9)
ELAC (18-22, 11-13)
Rio Hondo (19-21, 9-15)
Cerritos (13-26-1, 8-16)
LA Harbor (10-29, 6-18)
Compton (8-31, 4-20)

2022 Orange Empire Standings:
Saddleback (32-8 overall, 17-4 in conference)
Riverside (29-11, 15-6)
Santa Ana (29-10-1, 13-8)
Cypress (21-19, 11-10)
Golden West (22-18, 8-13)
Fullerton (20-20, 8-13)
Orange Coast (17-23, 7-14)
Irvine Valley (17-23, 5-16)