Vanguard baseball welcomes recruits

Nick Akins, drafted in the 20th round of the 2008 Major League Baseball draft out of Riverside Community College, tops Vanguard University’s 13-player baseball recruiting class, announced by first-year coach Ralph Grajeda.

Akins, for whom 30 of his 46 hits in 2008 were for extra bases, including 13 home runs, is among 10 community college transfers who will try to improve upon a 17-31 season last spring, after which Scott Mallernee resigned, having posted a 72-110 record in four seasons at the helm.

The three other recruits are transfers from NCAA Division I programs.

Akins, who will shift from infield to outfield and be a junior for the Lions, was selected by the Washington Nationals as the 601st overall pick, but he elected not to sign. He hit .297 for Riverside, where Grajeda was an assistant coach. He had 40 RBIs to help the Tigers finish third in the state.

Eric Krzysiak is a junior catcher who led Riverside with a .411 batting average in 2008. He was named first-team All Southern California and All-Orange Empire Conference as a sophomore.

In 2007, he was an All-Golden State Athletic Conference performer at Cal Baptist.

Brandon “Sunny” Godfrey is a junior who transfers in from Long Beach State. A projected starter for the Lions, according to Grajeda, Godfrey posted a 12.3 ERA in just 3 2/3 combined innings the last two seasons.

Juniors Jake Wood (Antelope Valley), Josh Manzano (Chaffey) and Teddy Martinez (San Bernardino Valley) were all first-team All-Foothill Conference performers for their respective schools in 2008.

Wood, an outfielder, hit a team-best .349 with 53 runs, 22 RBIs and 17 stolen bases and Grajeda said he possesses a center fielder’s speed and a right fielder’s arm.

Manzano, a first baseman, hit .349 with three homers and 24 RBIs. He hit .362 with 10 doubles, one homer and 20 RBIs for the Palm Springs Power last summer.

Martinez, a right-handed pitcher, posted a 6-4 record and a 4.44 ERA in a team-leading 81 innings as a sophomore.

Jason Schaniel, a senior third baseman and designated hitter, comes from San Diego State, via Cypress Community College.

Alex Espinosa is a sophomore catcher who played at Cal State Northridge last season. He played in the 2008 National Baseball Congress World Series with the Southern California Bombers last summer.

Zach Baker, a junior catcher out of San Bernardino Valley, hit .300 with four homers, 32 RBIs and 19 extra-base hits in 2008. He also played for the SoCal Bombers.

Brian Lewis, a 6-foot-7 junior, is a right-handed pitcher out of Mt. San Jacinto, after playing for Chaffey in 2007. He was 1-0 with a 6.00 ERA in only nine innings last season, after posting a 5-4 record and a 2.87 ERA in 62 2/3 innings for Chaffey.

Brett Halstead is a junior outfielder out of West Los Angeles Community College, where he hit .319 with two homers and 16 RBIs last year.

Ryan Vollkommer is a right-handed pitcher out of San Bernardino Valley, where he was 3-3 in 43 1/3 innings last season.

Ryan Pauly is a junior right-handed pitcher out of Trinidad State Community College in Colorado. He was 1-0 in 12 2/3 innings last season.

The Lions open the season Jan. 30 at home against Patten University from Oakland.

— From staff reports