Former Knights Lead Gauchos to College World Series.
June 15, 2016Coaches Andrew Checketts and Eddie Cornejo Guide UCSB to Omaha
Knights Baseball Club will be well-represented next week at the College World Series in Omaha, Neb.
Partner school UC Santa Barbara of the Big West Conference, coached by former Aloha Knights pitcher and pitching coach Andrew Checketts, shocked the college baseball world on Sunday by eliminating No. 2-seed Louisville 4-3 on pinch-hitter Sam Cohen's improbable walk-off grand slam to sweep the Louisville Super regional.
The stunning blast also punched a CWS ticket for 2015 Knights Chris Clements, Clay Fisher and Michael McAdoo Jr; for 2016 Knight-to-be Kyle Hatton, and for former Aloha Knights standout Eddie Cornejo (pictured, 2001), now UCSB's recruiting coordinator/assistant coach.
It will be the first CWS appearance for the Gauchos (42-18-1) and the first for Checketts, a native of West Linn, Ore., who starred at Oregon State from 1996-98 before starting his coaching career as a player/pitching coach with the old Aloha Knights in 2000 following his retirement from professional baseball.
The Gauchos will play Oklahoma State in their first game at the CWS. The Cowboys defeated host South Carolina to win the Columbia Super Regional.
"I don't have a lot of words, I'm still in a little bit of shock," Checketts said afterward. "Remarkable. I think as a coach we don't get to get in the box anymore or play anymore so ultimately it is the players that made the difference.
"These guys have been a remarkable group in terms of perseverance and belief," especially considering the Gauchos lost 10 players from a 2015 NCAA regional club to the MLB draft.
"Frankly, for us to move on we feel we might have just beat the best team in baseball," Checketts added in the post-game media session.
Fisher played a key role in UCSB's charge to Omaha. The sophomore shortstop, rated by Perfect Game as the West Coast League's 29th-best pro prospect last summer, made the Nashville Regional all-star team by going 7-for-15 (.429), with He was 7-for-15 with five extra-base hits and seven RBIs.
UCSB took third place in the Big West regular-season race to wrangle an NCAA bid, and then defeated Washington, Xavier and Xavier again to capture the Vanderbilt Regional title and a Super Regional berth.
In the Supers, the Gauchos topped host Louisville 4-2 on Saturday and then completed their improbable journey to Omaha with the incredible victory on Sunday. You can click here for video of Cohen's stunning homer and the Gauchos wild celebration.
Checketts coached for the Aloha Knights in 2000 before starting his coaching career at Riverside City College. He then assisted at UC Riverside before joining George Horton's charter staff at Oregon when the Ducks revived their program in 2007.
He was Oregon's pitching coach/recruiting coordinator from 2009-11. He was hired as UCSB's head coach on June 22, 2011; he signed a contract extension through 2020 in the offseason.
Checketts is 179-105-3 in five seasons and is UCSB's leader in career winning percentage (.629).
Cornejo played for the Knights in 2001 following his sophomore season at Riverside City College, where he was an All-American and two-time state champion. An all-Pacific International League selection with the Knights, he then spent two seasons at Oklahoma, where he earned all-Big 12 Conference honors for the Sooners.
He began his coaching career at RCC in 2009 and then went to UCSB in 2011 when Checketts was hired as head coach.
