Southwestern joins tribute for beloved Orange Coast baseball coach

Southwestern College Jaguars and Orange Coast College Pirates embrace after the pre-game ceremony tribute to Orange Coast College baseball coach John Altobelli. He was one of nine victims in a Jan. 26 helicopter crash.
Photo by Brittany Cruz-Fejeran

Two lines of solemn young men, one wearing Southwestern maroon and the other wearing orange t-shirts emblazoned with the number 14, struggled to hold back tears before Tuesday’s baseball game at Orange Coast College.

Not that anyone in the stands would have blamed anyone for letting the tears escape. Their eyes were fixed on the podium behind home plate, where Orange Coast acting head coach Nate Johnson choked up while delivering a raw, heartfelt speech during a pregame memorial honoring John Altobelli, who died two days earlier in the same helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant.

Opening day, Johnson said, was the former Orange Coast head coach’s favorite.

“On Opening Day he was always here super early, but today I beat him to the field,” Johnson said. “And it’s gonna be the only time that I ever do.”

Altobelli, his wife Keri and youngest daughter Alyssa all died Sunday in the accident that killed Bryant, his daughter and four others.

More than 2,000 people showed up to Wendell Pickens Field, affectionately known as “The House that Alto Built,” to support the players who chose to play in a game they could have cancelled. Sophomore Pirates pitcher Brenden Argomaniz said playing “was a no-brainer.”

“He wouldn’t have wanted us to back down,” Argomaniz said. “He would’ve wanted us to play hard and that’s what we did. I really think we honored his legacy today and I think we’re going to do that throughout the season.”

Former Southwestern head coach Jerry Bartow also made the trip to Costa Mesa to pay his respects. Bartow is one of the few community college baseball coaches with a resumé rivaling Altobelli’s – he won more than 900 games in 39 years at Southwestern, though he never won a state championship. Altobelli won 705 games in 27 years at Orange Coast , and four state titles. In fact, it was Altobelli’s Pirates who knocked the Jaguars out of the playoffs in 2014, Bartow’s final season.

The two schools started playing in 1978, Bartow said, and when Altobelli took over at OCC the nearly annual matchup continued. Bartow said the two coaches developed a great relationship over the years.

“I knew his wife, too,” Bartow said. “I met her when she was here one time, when she used to give him money for the scoreboard. I always used to kid him about it and then he ended up marrying her. So yeah, John was a good friend of mine and we played some great games up here.”

Bartow kept to himself during the game, sitting on the end of the Jaguars’ bench to avoid the crowd. And even though there was an extra person on the bench on a somber day, after a couple of innings the Southwestern dugout started sounding just like it always does – an excited buzz filled with laughter and shouts of encouragement in both English and Spanish.

A normal game is what Tony Altobelli, John Altobelli’s brother and Orange Coast’s sports information director, asked for during his pregame speech. After addressing the crowd and the Pirates dugout, he turned towards Jaguars head coach Jay Martel and the line of maroon jerseys.

“It’s a weird and awkward day for you guys,” Tony Altobelli said. “I wouldn’t envy this position – you guys are in a tough spot. But we appreciate the patience today. We appreciate the love and support you’ve sent us. Play like my brother would’ve told you to play. Play like Martel does tell you to play. Play hard. Play your best. Do the best you can.”

The Jaguars jumped ahead early, scoring four runs in the top of the third with an RBI single from sophomore right fielder Ryan Major, a two-RBI double from freshman first baseman Iran Fuentes and an RBI triple by sophomore designated hitter Jake Borst.

Orange Coast got one back in the bottom half when freshman second baseman Jordan Ku hit an RBI sacrifice fly, but the Jaguars scored three more runs in the top of the sixth to make it 7-1.

Freshman right-handed pitcher Riley O’Sullivan started on the mound for Southwestern and said the Jaguars’ early success resulted from their focus.

“It’s very emotional to start off with the whole ceremony and everything happened, but when you get on the mound you gotta kind of just forget everything and remember it’s baseball,” O’Sullivan said. “You just gotta pitch.”

In the bottom of the sixth, the Orange Coast bats finally woke up.

Sophomore third baseman David Morgan stepped up to the plate with one out and the bases loaded and hit a soft line drive towards Jaguars second baseman Jesse Chacon, who lost the ball in the low afternoon sun. One run scored on what could have been a double play, though it was ruled a hit as Chacon never touched the ball. O’Sullivan threw a wild pitch in the next at-bat, allowing another run to score, then Pirates freshman catcher Oscar Favela knocked in two more runs with a single to center field to cut Southwestern’s lead to 7-5.

Argomaniz said the Pirates just took longer to focus than the Jaguars, and it took a reminder from Johnson to get their heads back into the game.

“The first half of the game we were just all shaken up,” he said. “We weren’t playing like we know that we can. I think that’s just because our hearts and our minds were on Alto in that situation. But about the fifth or the sixth inning, Coach Nate, he pulled us together and he reminded us of what Alto would’ve wanted us to do and how he would’ve wanted us to play in that situation.”

Orange Coast added another run in the bottom of the seventh when sophomore third baseman Ryan O’Halloran scored from second on a two-out dropped third strike to make it 7-6.

Before the Pirates had a chance to complete the comeback – or even before the Jaguars could shut it down – darkness halted the game in the top of the ninth with no outs and runners on second and third for Southwestern. O’Sullivan is in line to be the winning pitcher with five earned runs allowed, three strikeouts and a walk in 5.1 innings pitched if the lead holds when the game is resumed Feb. 18 at Southwestern.

Attention turned back to Altobelli after the game. Martel, who was an assistant under Bartow for years, has continued the tradition of scheduling Orange Coast since he took over as Southwestern’s head coach in 2015 and said Altobelli built a model program.

“It was tough for me early in the game, and during the game I kind of forgot,” Martel said. “But now that the game is over, I really miss having John Altobelli on the other side and competing against him. We’ve been competing against Orange Coast for the last 25 years and they’ve shown what excellence is.”

With the umpires’ decision to suspend the game, there are no losers for now. Maybe that is a fitting outcome given Southwestern assistant coach David Dinerman’s pregame speech honoring Altobelli.

“We hope the measure of today’s contest will be how it helps all of you begin the process of turning your grief into gratitude,” he said. “We wear our school colors today, but we are, today, all Pirates.”