Allen tossing his A game

Take note, Kyle Allen is good.

The Orange Coast College sophomore left-hander out of Trabuco

Hills High is quietly making a name for himself this season,

compiling a 6-3 record as of Friday’s games.

Coast climbed back to .500 with two wins in the College of the

Sequoias Tournament Thursday, beating Cabrillo, 4-3, in Game 1, with

Allen going the distance, striking out seven while only allowing one

run on six hits.

But complete games are nothing new for Allen, who came into this

week with five -- good for second in the Orange Empire Conference.

As of April 14, Allen also ranked second in the OEC in innings

pitched (75 2/3) and led the conference with 95 strikeouts, 16 more

than Santa Ana’s Matt Lincoln.

Allen has accounted for 41.4% of Coast’s strikeouts on a staff

with a 5.19 ERA, which ranks seventh among eight OEC teams.

No doubt, the OEC is one of the most competitive conferences in

California, if not the country.

Riverside leads with a 13-6 mark followed by Saddleback and Santa

Ana at 12-7 and Golden West and Cypress at 11-8. Coast (18-17 with

another Sequoias Tournament win Friday) sits in sixth place at 7-12

with two games left next week against Fullerton to close out the

season.

A year ago, Coast finished third in the OEC and advanced to the

Southern California Super Regionals, the second round of the regional

playoffs, finishing 32-13.

Allen compiled a 3.25 ERA to go 3-0 with 29 strikeouts in 32

innings last season, so his ascent this season was not unexpected.

This season, Coast has hovered around the .500 mark, having

returned only one starting position player from last year.

The pitching staff has been a bright spot in an otherwise choppy

ride through conference waters this season. Coast’s starting staff of

returners Garrett Murdy, Jimmy Treece and Allen have done its best to

keep Coast in as many games as possible. Treece has tallied five wins

while Murdy has won twice.

All have steadily improved on last season’s totals, especially

Allen, who struck out a school-record 18 in a 4-1 victory over

Riverside earlier this month in a game he said was the best he has

ever pitched.

No telling when the next sighting of Allen on the mound will yield

a memorable achievement. It might be next week.

*

OCC long-snapper Brian Cristol plans to walk on for the UC

Berkeley football team this fall.

The 5-foot-9 sophomore from Danville saw action at defensive back

and kick returner last fall. He made 15 tackles for Coast, which

finished 4-6. He was a late addition to the list of Coast signees,

receiving an invitation to walk on by Cal head coach Jeff Tedford.

Cristol is one of three Pirates headed to Pacific 10 Conference

schools. That also includes sophomore offensive linemen Patrick Afif

and Keola Loo, who will both attend Washington State.

Thirteen sophomores off the 2002 Coast squad are headed to

four-year schools to continue their football careers. In additon to

the aforementioned are: David Caddin, Bethany; Adrian Calloway, Weber

State; James Canetti, Charleston Southern; Ed Fane,

Louisiana-Lafayette; Donnie Garcia, West Liberty; Stephen Herring,

Wagner; Dan Steinau, Western Michigan; Ricky Tovar, West Liberty;

Stephen Turner, Robert Morris and Kyle Westman, Eastern Michigan.

*

Chris Jackson, a wide receiver who led Orange Coast College with

37 catches for 743 yards in 1994, is making his presence known for

another team in the Southland -- the Los Angeles Avengers of the

Arena Football League.

The Avengers headed into their game Friday against Buffalo atop

the American Western Division at 8-3, one game ahead of San Jose and

are currently seeded No. 2 if the playoffs started today.

Jackson is part of that success, leading all L.A. receivers with

1,114 yards on 77 catches with 28 touchdowns. He is averaging 111.4

yards per game.