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Briefs: OCC No. 1 seed

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Orange Coast College is the No. 1 seed and will play host to El Camino in a best-of-three series beginning Friday in the Southern California baseball regionals.

The Pirates (27-9) bring a six-game winning streak into the postseason after sharing the Orange Empire Conference crown with Santa Ana.

The regionals are the first of three potential best-of-three playoff series that will send two Southern California qualifiers to the four-team state championships held in Fresno.

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— From staff reports

OCC’s Chen lauded

Orange Coast College golfer Michael Chen has been named All-Orange Empire Conference after leading the Pirates to a 50-10 record in conference play.

Chen’s scoring average of 72.2 over a dozen 18-hole rounds ranked second among conference performers, behind only Nico Mendoza of Santiago Canyon (71.2).

Other contributors to OCC’s regular-season title were Zach Olson (a 75.9 scoring average), Jem Young (76.1), Zach Eddy (76.1), Mark Reyes (77.7) and Zac Lauderdale (75.5).

— From staff reports

Morales singled out

UC Irvine senior pitcher Andrew Morales is one of 10 finalists for the 2014 Senior CLASS Award that recognizes excellence in the areas of community, classroom, character and competition.

Fan voting has begun and counts for one-third of the total with the remaining two-thirds determined by NCAA Division I coaches and national media members. Fans are encouraged to vote daily through June 9 via the Senior CLASS Award website.

Morales is 7-0 with an 0 .78 earned-run average entering Friday’s start at home against Big West Conference rival UC Santa Barbara. He ranks third in the nation in ERA, seventh in WHIP (0.80) and 11th in strikeouts (87).

The All-American is also a candidate for the 2014 Golden Spikes Award. A 2014 Big West Scholar-Athlete, Morales is scheduled to graduate in June with a degree in sociology. He has interned with the fire department and has lent his time with the Build-a-Bear foundation and distributed bears to cancer patients at the Children’s Hospital of Orange County. Upon graduation, Morales plans to apply to the fire academy as well as pursue a paramedic’s license.

Finalists were selected by national media from the list of 30 candidates and the Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2014 College World Series in June. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.

Morales and the Anteaters are ranked No. 20 by Collegiate Baseball, are 29-14 on the year and 11-1 and in first place in the Big West.

— From staff reports

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