About Taft College Baseball

Vince Maiocco begins his ninth season as the Cougars head baseball coach. Maiocco came to Taft College in 2001 and served as an assistant coach until 2004.  Before coming to Taft College; he coached at Gavilan College in 2001, Delano High School in 2000, and Porterville College in 1999. Maiocco spent the most of his coaching career at College of the Siskiyous from 1988-1998.

The Cougar baseball program has a rich history of developing players for the professional and 4-year collegiate level of baseball. The vast majority of Taft College's graduating sophomores have went on to play at the 4-year collegiate and professional level. It is the coaching staff's obligation to develop players to play at the 4-year collegiate or professional level.

The philosophy of Taft College Baseball is: "Take the academic aspect of college serious, maintain an image on and off the field that sheds a positive light on Taft College, and work hard while practicing and playing the game of baseball!"

Over the last three seasons the Cougars have enjoyed their most successful run at TC since 1985-87. With consecutive winning seasons in 2009, 2010 and 2011; the first at Taft College since the 1985-87 baseball seasons.  With a 22-14 record last year, the Cougars finished the 2011 season ranked as the #17th ranked team  in NorCal.

Two Cougar Freshman Earn All-CVC Honors
May 7, 2013
by Dennis McCAll
Taft Midway Driller

A pair of freshmen on Taft College’s young baseball team earned second team All-Central Valley Conference recognition in voting by coaches of the seven teams.

Centerfielder Travis Tessandori and pitcher Brandon Van Stone were the only Cougars selected to the all-star team.

Tessandori, who prepped at Tehachapi High, was the Cougars’ leadoff hitter and finished with the best batting average at .324.  He had 45 hits, including two doubles and a triple and also led the team with his on-base percentage of .412 and in stolen bases with 18-of-20, second best in the conference.

“Travis also was named to the conference Golden Glove team for his defensive work,” said head coach Vince Maiocco.

From his centerfield position, Tessandori had a .989 fielding average and 88 putouts.  He committed just one error.

Van Stone is a 6-foot, 160-pound right-hander from Henderson, Nev.

He finished the season with a 3-5 record, a 3.18 earned run average and the No. 6 ranking among pitchers in the conference.  His strikeout-to-walk ratio was 32-11.

As a team, the freshman-dominated Cougars struggled at the plate, finishing last in the conference with a .241 team batting average.

Tessandori was the lone bright spot.  Only one other player – freshman Dayton Kurian – hit over .300.  Kurian finished with a .310 average.

Cougars Beat Pirates
W 5-2
April 18, 2013

Allan Sanchez threw a 5 hitter and struck out 11 as the Taft Cougars beat the Porterville College Pirates 5-2. Travis Tessandori, Luis Trinidad and Dayton Kurian collected 2 hits each for the Cougars, while Roman Testani added a double.

TC Takes Season Series from West Hills College
W 9-0
April 16, 2013

Brandon Van Stone and Michael Vaquera combined on an 8-hit shutout, beating West Hills College 9-0. With his 7-innings of shutout baseball, Van Stone saw his season ERA drop to 2.90 in the win.  Matt Moorehead went 3 for 4 for the Cougars and he also had 2 RBI’s.  Travis Tessandori and Dayton Kurian collected 2 hits each for TC. The Cougars won the season series from the Falcons beating them in 3 of the 4 games played. The Cougars play again on Thursday at Taft College against Porterville College at 2pm.

Cougars Take 2 of 3 Against West Hills
April 6, 2013

Taft College took 2 of three against West Hills College by winning scores of 4-2 and 1-0. In the Thursday 4-2 win, Allan Sanchez went 8 innings to get the win and Roman Testani, Travis Tessandori and Adrian Rodriguez each had two hits for the Cougars. Testani hit his first home run of the year giving the Cougars a two run lead in the 8th inning.   In Saturday’s 1-0 win, Kevin Little and Brandon Van Stone combined on the shutout win. Shane Sudsbury drove in the only run of the game with a 5th inning RBI single for the Cougars.  The Cougars now have won back to back Central Valley Conference series.

Taft Beats Reedley, Wins Series
W 7-2
March 23, 2013

Taft College beat Reedley College on Saturday March 23 by a score of 7-2. Kevin Little picked up the win and Brandon Van Stone collected his first save of the year. Travis Tessandori went 3 for 4 and Roman Testani and Luis Trinidad collected 2 hits each in the Cougars win. The win clinched the series against the Tigers.

Taft Defeats Reedley College
W 10-5
March 19, 2013

Michael Vaquera’s pinch hit grand slam in the 8th inning broke a 5-5 tie and catapulted the Cougars to a dramatic 10-5 win over the Tigers.  P.J. Matha pitched 4 innings of scoreless relief and only allowed 1 hit to pick up the win for Taft College. Travis Tessandori and Luis Trinidad each collected 3 hits for the Cougars, while Roman Testani went 2 for 3 with an RBI.

Taft Beats Porterville College
W 7-0
March 16, 2013

The Cougars beat Porterville College 7-0 on Saturday March 16th due in large part to pitcher Kevin Little’s 7 1/3 scoreless innings.  Travis Tessandori collected three hits to pace the Cougars while Matt Moorehead went 2 for 4 with an 8th inning RBI triple.

Cougars Lose Close Game at Fresno City College
L 1-3
February 28, 2013

Sophomore RHP Allan Sanchez threw a complete game, going eight innings and only allowing two earned runs, but it wasn’t enough as Fresno City College beat Taft 3-1.  Sanchez was on top of his game, as he only allowed seven hits and struck out five. Freshman leftfielder Josh Roelofs scored the Cougars only run on a second inning single, he stole second base, advanced to third base on a wild pitch and scored on a throwing error by the Fresno catcher. The Cougars play the Rams again on Saturday at 1pm at Cougar Field on the Taft College campus.

Cougars Defeat #6 Fresno City College
W 7-4
February 26, 2013

The Cougars defeated NorCal’s number six ranked team, Fresno City College 7-4 on Tuesday at Cougar Field. Brandon Van Stone (2-1) pitched six innings, allowing only one earned run.  Matt Gunderson pitched the last 2 2/3 innings, allowing only one hit to pick up his first collegiate save. The Cougars scored six runs in the first two innings, five of which were unearned. Leftfielder Josh Roelofs had the big hit in the second inning driving in Travis Tessandori with an RBI single. Luis Trinidad and Tesandori each collected two hits for the Cougars in the big win. The Cougars play again on Thursday at Fresno City College’s John Eueless Field at 3pm.

Sequoias Sweep Cougars
L 1-7, 2-8, 2-13
February 24, 2013

The Cougars began CVC play on a definite down note, getting swept by College of the Sequoias by scores of 1-7, 2-8 and 2-13. Not a lot went right for the Cougars during this 3-games series, but Dayton Kurian collected 4 hits for the Cougars during the series. In the Friday 2-8 loss, the Cougars tied the score at 2-2 scoring a run in the 7th inning on an RBI single by Luis Trinidad which scored Travis Tessandori from second base. The Giants then scored five runs in the bottom of the 7th to put the game away.

Monterey Peninsula College Sweeps Cougars
L 8-10, 7-9, 6-10
February 15, 2013

Coming into the February 15-16 weekend series against Monterey-Peninsula College, the Cougars were struggling offensively, only scoring 4 runs in their previous three games. Over the weekend against MPC the Cougars scored 21 runs, however that was not enough as the Lobos swept the Cougars in the 3-game series by scores of 10-8, 9-7 and 10-6.  Travis Tessandori and Luis Trinidad led the Cougars offensively over the weekend; Tessandori was 6 for 13 and Trinidad was 4 for 10 in the series.  Jossaiah Raval collected his first home run of the season with a solo shot in Friday’s 10-8 loss. The Cougars are now 3-6-1 on the season and open up Central Valley Conference play Tuesday at College of the Sequoias in Visalia at 2pm.

Taft College vs Barstow College
L 1-3
February 9, 2013

Kevin Little and P.J. Matha combined on eight shutout innings, allowing only one Barstow College hit. Entering the ninth inning with a 1-0 lead, Taft allowed three Barstow College runs, all on a 3-run home run. The Cougars lost in heartbreaking fashion 3-1. Travis Tessandori and Clint Jorgensen each had two hits for TC. The Cougars are now 3-3-1 on the young season. They return to action Friday at 1:30 against Monterey-Peninsula College at Cougar Field.

Taft College vs College of the Siskiyous
L 0-2 & W 3-0
February 7 & 8, 2013

Great starting pitching highlighted the Cougars weekend even though they lost two of three games to Sikiyous and Barstow. In the opening game against College of the Siskiyous, Allan Sanchez went the distance striking out 11 Eagles and allowing only two runs in the Siskiyous 2-0 win over Taft College.

Brandon Van Stone went seven innings allowing no runs and surrendering only five hits in a 3-0 Cougar win.. Luis Trinidad, Clint Jorgensen and Shane Sudsbury each collected RBI singles for the Cougars. Michael Vaquera pitched the ninth inning getting his second save of the year.

Taft College vs Los Angeles Harbor College
T 9-9
February 5, 2013

The Cougars had it on cruise control through five innings leading 9-4. However things fell apart late settling for a 9-9 tie with LA Harbor College. Leading 9-7 in the seventh inning, LA Harbor tied it up with a 2-run home run. After nine innings the game was called due to darkness. Josh Roelofs hit a home run and a double to lead the Cougars offensively. Dayton Kurian added three hits for TC. The Cougars are now 2-1-1 on the season.

Taft College vs Los Angeles Harbor College
W 4-3
February 2, 2013

The Cougars concluded the weekend by beating Los Angeles Harbor College 4-3. Travis Tessandori’s game winning RBI bunt base hit scored Tayler Meditz from third base as the Cougars won in “walk-off” fashion. Michael Vaquera pitched 1 2/3 inning of relief to notch his first save of the year. The Cougars are now 2-1 on the season.

Taft College vs Feather River College
W 1-0 & L 1-9
February 1, 2013

The Cougars beat #4 ranked Feather River College on opening day 1-0. Sophomore Allan Sanchez went seven innings, striking out four while only allowing six hits. Sophomore Michael Vaquera pitched two innings to pick up the save for TC. Shane Sudsbury drove in the only run for the Cougars with a hard hit RBI single to right field.

In the second game of the double-header with Feather River, the Golden Eagles beat the Cougars 9-1. Luis Trinidad and Travis Tessandori each collected two hits for the Cougars in the loss.