Four members of the Taft College baseball team earned 2021 All-Central Valley Conference honors as the awards were announced on Thursday by the CVC following the annual postseason coaches meeting. Named to the All-CVC second team were freshman pitcher Julian DeLeon and freshman catcher Christian Wilson while sophomore second baseman Andres Garza and sophomore outfielder Damien Holmes were tabbed to the Gold Glove Team.
DeLeon threw 26 innings over six appearances, including four starts for the Cougars and struck out 20 batters. He ended the season with a team-best 4.50 earned run average.
Wilson emerged as Taft's top hitter, leading the Cougars with a .325 batting average, 27 hits, 6 doubles, 10 RBI, and 18 walks. His .457 on base and .434 slugging percentage were also team highs.
Garza was perfect in the infield for the Cougars, committing no errors over 132 chances while Holmes made just three errors with 77 putouts over 83 chances from the outfield. Holmes also totaled three outfield assists.
It was a tough year for the Cougars on and off the field during a pandemic season. But Taft persevered and won two of its final three games on its way to a 3-25 overall record and 3-21 mark in conference play.