Scott Beerer

business Tony Altobelli It was a rainy day on the Orange Coast College campus so baseball coach John Altobelli brought the troops into the gym for some whiffleball batting practice. "I'm throwing to Scott Beerer and he rips a line shot and hits me (south of the boarder) and I go down for the count," Altobelli recalls. "I look up and he's rolling on the floor laughing his head off. It's the only time I've ever seen him smile. I guess I have to take one for the team to get him to smile."

MISSION VIEJO - Scott Beerer struck out seven, walked one and gave up three hits to lead Orange Coast College to a 2-1 Orange Empire Conference baseball victory at Saddleback Tuesday. Joey Morrison had an RBI double in the fifth inning and Donny Murphy homered in the sixth to give the Pirates a 2-0 advantage. Beerer had a no-hitter going into the eighth before Saddleback answered with a home run. OCC improves to 4-5 in conference. ORANGE EMPIRE CONFERENCE Orange Coast 2, Saddleback 1 Orange Coast 000 011 000 - 2 5 2 Saddleback 000 000 010 - 1 3 1 Beerer and Hanson; Gore, Hunlof (8)

RIVERSIDE - Newport Harbor High and Riverside Poly's baseball teams combined for nine home runs, and the host Bears pulled out a 10-9 victory with appropriately enough, a homer in the top of the eighth inning, during Tuesday's North Orange County Tournament third round game.Down 9-3 in the fifth inning, the Sailors (1-2) scored six runs to tie up the game. Miguel Sandoval and Scott Beerer each hit two-run homers in that inning for Newport. It was Beerer's second home run of the day. He finished with three hits and three RBIs.

SAN DIEGO - The Orange Coast College baseball teams picked up wins over San Diego Mesa, 17-5, and host Southwestern, 10-6, at the Apache Classic Sunday. Against Mesa, starter Scott Beerer (2-0) struck out 11 and walked one in seven innings to lead the Pirates on the mound. He also pitched in with a home run. Jeremy Lahmann (four RBIs) and Ryan Marcos also homered for the Pirates (7-1). OCC put the game away with eight runs in the ninth inning. Against Southwestern, the Pirates took a 3-1 lead, but pulled away for good with seven runs in the sixth.

COSTA MESA - Orange Coast College baseball player Scott Beerer will receive a scholarship to continue his academic and athletic careers at Texas A&M University in the fall, Pirates' Coach John Altobelli announced Wednesday. Beerer was Coast's right-fielder last spring, and was also the Bucs' No. 1 starting pitcher. He was one of just three players to start in all 44 games. Against Reedley in the College of the Sequoias Tournament April 12, Altobelli showcased his versatility by playing him at all nine positions during the course of the game.

COSTA MESA - With a seven-run first inning, the Orange Coast College baseball team went on to open its season with a 19-5 victory over Mt. San Jacinto in the Pirates' Matt O'Brien Memorial tournament. OCC sophomore Josh McCanne was 3 for 5 and finished with 5 RBI. Pirates Chris Sinner, Ryan Marcos and Brian Murphy had 2 RBI each. Marcos also hit a home run. Scott Beerer, a Newport Harbor High product, pitched six innings for the Bucs and threw five strikeouts, while allowing four hits to get the win. OCC freshman Rob Williams pitched two innings and struck out three.

COSTA MESA - In a season which Orange Coast College baseball standout Scott Beerer has posted some impressive numbers, the Newport Harbor High grad may have saved his best for last against Santa Ana. Beerer tossed a complete game and retired the final 18 batters as the Pirates ended a six-game losing streak, beating the first-place Dons, 4-2, in Orange Empire Conference action. Beerer struck out seven and walked none to improve his record to 4-2. He also went 2 for 3 at the plate with a run scored and one RBI. Chris Sinner went 2 for 4 with two runs scored and one RBI for the Pirates (23-14, 11-10 in conference)

Scott Beerer, a former baseball star at Newport Harbor High and Orange Coast College, is back in professional baseball after a two-year, injury-imposed absence. And Beerer, drafted in the second round (No. 47 overall) as a pitcher by the Colorado Rockies in 2003, has reinvented himself. The 6-foot-1, 200-pounder is playing outfield for the Tri-City Dust Devils, a Class A affiliate of the Rockies based in Pasco, Wash. A torn labrum in his right shoulder derailed his pitching career, after earning All-American honors as a junior at Texas A&M. Beerer is clearly anxious to make up for lost time as a position player.

Even though the pain of Scott Beerer's injury has long since subsided, the effects are still with him. The former Newport Harbor High and Orange Coast College standout will not pitch the next week or two for the Modesto Nuts, the Colorado Rockies' High Class A affiliate. There is not a new injury, just rest for an old one. A torn labrum shortly into his rookie-ball season stole a year from his baseball life. "It was tough," said Beerer, who was drafted 47th overall in 2003 out of Texas A&M. "You go through your ups and downs.

Sophomore left-hander Kyle Allen, the ace of Orange Coast College's pitching staff this season, was selected in the 32nd round -- No. 947 overall -- by the Colorado Rockies in the Major League Baseball first-year player draft Wednesday. Allen finished 2003 with a 3.35 ERA while going 6-5. The Trabuco Hills High grad struck out 120 batters in just 99 1/3 innings, including a school-record 18 in a 4-1 win against Riverside. Allen tossed six complete games and collected two saves for the Pirates (19-21-1, 8-16 in the Orange Empire Conference)

Steve Virgen Scott Beerer, a former baseball standout at Newport Harbor High and Orange Coast College, was surprised, yet overjoyed the Colorado Rockies selected him in the second round, 47th overall, in Tuesday's Major League first-year player draft. Two other local athletes, Randy Blood and Justin Azze, were also selected, while UC Irvine's Chris Klemm and OCC's Kyle Allen could be picked when the draft coninues today. In June 2001, after Beerer's freshman season with OCC, he was selected in the 23rd round, 681st overall, by the Texas Rangers.

Looking back, 5 years ago this week: Newport Harbor High's hard-throwing right-hander Scott Beerer fans 11 in 5 1/3 innings to help preserve a 12-7 victory over Costa Mesa in the Pride of the Coast Tournament. Beerer also doubles twice against Mesa, his second two-bagger following a leadoff walk to Nick Langsdorf, to jump start a five-run outburst in the 11th inning. Scott Crane and Charlie Waite each plate runs with a double for Newport (5-10) while Langsdorf and Shawn O'Donnell each smack two-run home runs.

HUNTINGTON BEACH - The topsy-turvy season for the Orange Coast College baseball team continued Tuesday, when the visiting Pirates surrendered four runs in the bottom of the ninth and lost to Orange Empire Conference and district rival Golden West, 8-7. The Pirates (26-11, 11-9 in the OEC) took a 7-4 lead into the ninth, mostly thanks to a six-run fifth inning. But, the Rustlers answered back in the ninth. The Bucs struck out 15 times and left the door open for Golden West.

Steve Virgen Young baseball coaches should take a lesson from Orange Coast College Coach John Altobelli. The OCC baseball team's 6-5 win over two-time defending state champion Riverside Tuesday stemmed from a serious, down-to-business strategy from Coach "Alto." A month ago, Alto basically drew a line in the sand. He challenged his team's character and made sure this season would not be doomed to underachievement. After the Pirates lost 13-2 to Saddleback on March 16, which marked their fourth setback in five games, Alto demanded what he called a "silent practice."