Divisional Champ Moorpark and Cuesta Lead All-WSC North Team
Western Sate Conference North Division champion Moorpark College took home two of the top three honors in the WSC North recently. Head Coach Mario Porto was named the Coach of the Year, while sophomore lefty Andrew Nardi and sophomore righty Grant Nechak shared Pitcher of the Year honors. Cuesta College, who finished in a three-way tie for third, took home the other big award with sophomore second baseman Andrew Navigato taking home Player of the Year.
Coach Porto led the Raiders to their first WSC North title since 2012, when they shared the championship with two other schools. Moorpark finished their 2018 campaign 26-17 overall and 13-7 in WSC North play to claim their first non-co-title in program history. It's the fourth conference championship for Moorpark, with the previous coming in shared fashion. The Raiders would go on to earned the #6 overall seed in SoCal for the 2018 CCCAA playoffs.
A big reason for Moorpark's success this season was the pitching of Nardi and Nechak. Nechak led the WSC North in ERA (2.44), while Nardi was second (2.48). Nardi was the WSC North leader in strikeouts (91), while Nechak was second (78). Nechak would finish the 2018 season 7-2 with 85 innings with one save and complete game to his name. Nardi would finish 6-4, throwing 80 innings, with a pair of complete games.
Navigato would lead the WSC North in average (.387), RBIs (52), and finish second in slugging (.656). Navigato posted a .457 on-base percentage hitting six home runs, five triples, and 16 doubles. He also scored 44 runs and stole seven bases.
