The Golden State Collegiate Baseball League (GSCBL) is proud to announce their All-League teams for the 2015 season. The following players were recognized as standouts among their respective teams and the GSCBL. Both league and overall statistics were used to determine All-League selections. The leagues Most Valuable Player and Pitcher of the Year award were voted for by the seven GSCBL franchises.
 

Most Valuable Player:  Wyatt Castro (Sacramento Heat)
2015 Stats: .410 BA (48-117), 25 runs Runs,  18 2B, 2 3B, 8 HR, 38 RBIs, .461 OBP, 1.269 OPS

Pitcher of the Year: Jordan Kurokawa (Top Speed Baseball)
2015 Stats: 47.2 IP, 7 Wins, 0 Loss, 34 Hits Allowed, 15 Walks, 47 Strike Outs, 1.03 WHIP, 2.64 ERA

Coach of the Year: Stan Switala (Top Speed Baseball)
2015 Record: 43-6 overall, 25-2 in league, GSCBL Champions

Overall, seven Alameda Merchants were selected to GSCBL All League teams this summer:

1st TEAM ALL LEAGUE GSCBL

OF Christian Leung (UC San Diego) - This Alameda native, a sweet swinging outfielder from UCSD, batted .416 on the summer (which was actually the highest batting average in the GSCBL), with 8 doubles, 3 home runs and 31 RBI. However, according to GSCBL rules, Leung did not qualify for the batting crown because he only had 89 at bats on the summer. Unfortunate for this kid - who is on the quarter system at UCSD and did not join the Merchants until June 17th (missing 11 games of the season). We feel that he would have been named the GSCBL Hitter of the Year if he would have got those extra AB's. Either way, Leung proved himself to be one of the best hitters in the GSCBL this summer.

RHP Isaac Friesen (Seminole JC/University of Hawaii) - This 6'3" righty from Colorado played at one of the best JC's in the nation last year (Seminole, Oklahoma) and will step foot on the Hawaii campus this fall to play for Coach Mike Trapasso. Friesen (who adopted the nickname "Iceman" from his teammates and coaches because of his stoic demeanor on the mound) was able to control four pitches at any time in the count all summer. Friesen quickly emerged and established himself as the Merchants closer. He stuck with that role the entire summer. In 20 appearances (24 innings), he had an ERA of 1.12, struck out 20 batters, walked six and only gave up 3 earned runs. He led the GSCBL with 7 saves. For his first 19 appearances of the summer, his ERA was 0.00. Friesen was the best relief pitcher in the GSCBL this summer - no question.

INF Michael Perri (Pepperdine/USF) - Another Alameda native, this 6'3" junior-to-be played his first two years at Pepperdine, but will transfer to the University of San Francisco in the fall. He was a solid bat at the 3/4 spot for Alameda all summer. He hit .331 while leading the Merchants in hits (41), doubles (8) and RBI's (31). He was 2nd on the team in at-bats (127), runs scored (26) and triples (2). If not for a minor heel injury that Perri played with most of the summer, he probably would have been even MORE productive & we believe he would have also challenged for Hitter of the Year in the GSCBL.

2ND-TEAM ALL-LEAGUE

INF Spencer Erdman (Santa Barbara City/Loyola Marymount) -  The San Jose, CA native was proof that great things do sometimes come in small packages. The 5'8" 155 lb junior-to-be was a sparkplug for the Merchants at the top of the order all summer. As Alameda's lead off man, he had one of the highest batting averages in the GSCBL at .368 (39-106) to go along with 16 steals. He also led the Merchants with 29 runs scored. Played solid defense at both SS and 2B.

INF Thomas Peter (Western Kentucky) - The San Ramon, CA native was a sure handed 3rd baseman for the Merchants who came on strong as the summer went on - getting more and more dangerous at the plate. In his last 10 games, he was 14 for 31 (.451) with a double and two home runs. He finished with a batting average of .343 (36-105) with 17 runs scored and 22 RBI's. Also hit 6 doubles and 3 home runs for a slugging percentage of .505.

UTL Matt Smithwick (Santa Clara) - Smithwick was a redshirt freshman at Santa Clara (he did not play in any games in 2015), but he was the surprise power hitter for the Merchants this past summer. The San Ramon, CA native spoke softly, but carried a big stick for the Merchants. He came out of nowhere to hit .310 (27-87) with 5 doubles, 2 triples and 7 home runs for a OPS of 1.033 and a slugging percentage above .500 (.505).

HONORABLE MENTION

INF Marcus Williams (Cal State East Bay) - Williams, a native of Oakland, CA, was the defensive anchor in the infield for the Merchants. At the plate, he hit .316 (37-117) with 19 RBI and 21 runs scored. This was close to a 40 point batting average improvement over last summer.

GOLDEN STATE COLLEGIATE LEAGUE ALL LEAGUE SELECTIONS FOR 2015

1ST-TEAM ALL-LEAGUE

C:    Lane Robinette (South Bay Storm)
1B:  Steve Knudson (Top Speed Baseball)  
2B:  Champi Lucca (Top Speed Baseball)
2B:  Nick McGrew (San Francisco Seagulls)
3B:  Chris Miguel (Top Speed Baseball)
3B:  Michael Perri (Alameda Merchants)
SS:  Ismael Orozco (San Francisco Seagulls)
SS:  Ricky Rodriguez (Top Speed Baseball)
OF:  Wyatt Castro (Sacramento Heat)
OF:  Matthew Martinez (Top Speed Baseball)
OF:  Matthew Haskins (Top Speed Baseball)
OF:  Christian Leung (Alameda Merchants)
DH:  Jack Dennis (Nevada Big Horns)
UTL: Zack Muenster (Nevada Big Horns)

SP:  Jordan Kurokawa (Top Speed Baseball)
SP:  Steven Borkowski (Top Speed Baseball)
SP:  Jared Koenig (San Francisco Seagulls)
SP:  Matthew Chavarria (Top Speed Baseball)
RP:  Isaac Friesen (Alameda Merchants)
RP:  Brandon Langan (Sacramento Heat)
 

2ND-TEAM ALL-LEAGUE

C:    Hayden Duer (Sacramento Heat)
1B:  Dom Orlando (South Bay Storm) 
1B:  Matt Smithwick (Alameda Merchants)
2B:  John Heckman (Nevada Big Horns)
3B:  Thomas Peter (Alameda Merchants)
3B:  Mike Lewandowski (Top Speed Baseball)
SS:  Nick Poirier (South Bay Storm)
SS:  Spencer Erdman (Alameda Merchants)
OF:  Jacob Lopez (San Francisco Seagulls)
OF:  Evan Ramirez (Nevada Big Horns)
OF:  Marcus Vidales (Sacramento Heat)
OF:  Ryan Rodriguez (Sacramento Heat)
DH:  Lucas Lorenz (Atwater Aviators)
UTL: Brett Minnick (Nevada Big Horns)

SP:  Josh Cohen (South Bay Storm)
SP:  David Moody (San Francisco Seagulls)
SP:  Jeremy Bagnall (Top Speed Baseball)
SP:  Brad Galisatus (Sacramento Heat)
RP:  Jake Pannunzio (Top Speed Baseball)
 

HONORABLE MENTION ALL-LEAGUE

C: Dalton Pizzuti (San Francisco Seagulls)
SS: Dakota Conners (Sacramento Heat)
SS: Marcus Williams (Alameda Merchants)
3B: Austin Muller (South Bay Storm)
SP: Connor Chick (Sacramento Heat)
SP: Elijah Saunders (San Francisco Seagulls)
SP: Eric Gleese (Top Speed Baseball)