Irvine Valley's baseball team remained at No. 12 in Southern California in the latest poll released by the California Community College Baseball Coaches Association.
The Lasers opened Orange Empire Conference play on Tuesday with a 4-1 win over No. 11 Fullerton at home.
The victory improved Irvine Valley's record to 13-5 overall. Fullerton's record dropped to 10-7 overall.
All eight teams from the Orange Empire Conference are ranked in the top 20 in Southern California.
Orange coast is No. 1, Santa Ana is second, Cypress is fourth, Saddleback comes in at fifth, Riverside is eighth, Fullerton ranks 11th, Irvine Valley is 12th and Golden West is ranked No. 19.
Irvine Valley ranks second in the OEC in team batting average at .294, second in hits with 179 and third in on base percentage at .385.
Irvine Valley sophomore shortstop Tyler Odekirk is tops in the conference in batting average at .427 and also first in steals with 10, freshman catcher Ryan Gaynor ranks second in the conference in RBI with 16, sophomore pitcher Tyler Venturelli is tied for second in wins with four and sophomore pitcher John Stevens is tied for first in the conference in saves with three and is third in the conference in strikeouts with 35.
The Lasers play again on Thursday at Fullerton at 2 p.m.
