Centaurs' Prieto Named Coach of the Year

After a season in which it went undefeated on the way to the Ocean League title it's no surprise that the Culver City High baseball team has seven players on the All-League squad and Coach Rick Prieto is Coach of the Year.

After guiding the Centaurs to second place in league and all the way to the CIF semifinals last season, Prieto piloted Culver City to a perfect 10-0 league mark this spring and a 20-9 overall record. 

Senior pitching ace/first baseman Tyler Mark was named Most Valuable Player while senior catcher/first baseman Jon Kocker, senior pitcher/outfielder Brian Ibarra, freshman pitcher/first baseman Jay Sterner and senior catcher/first baeman Skylar Blocker also made the first team.

Sophomore infielder Darian Sylvester and senior infielder Adrian Perez each made the second team. The Centaurs had a collective .301 batting average, a .396 slugging percentage and a .376 on-base percentage.

Mark batted .338 with 25 hits, 11 RBIs and 21 runs scored. He had nine doubles and six stolen bases. On the mound, he posted a  9-2 record with a 2.13 earned run average. He was the workhorse of the pitching staff with 62.1 innings under his belt. He had 78 strikeouts against only 17 walks.

Kocker batted .354 with a team-best 29 hits, 11 RBIs, 15 runs scored and a .549 slugging percentage; Perez batted .323 with 21 hits, nine RBIs and 13 runs scored; Sterner batted .244 with 20 hits, 13 RBIs, 14 walks and 17 runs; Blocker batted .312 with 24 hits, 16 RBIs and 17 runs scored; Ibarra hit .300 with 21 hits, eight RBIs and 17 runs; and Sylvester batted .293 with 27 hits, nine RBIs, six doubles and 19 runs scored.

Culver City won 10 of its final 11 regular-season games, then edged Lancaster Eastside in the first round of the Southern Section Division 3 playoffs before falling to Paramount 2-0 in the second round.

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