Steve Velazco

Position:
INF/OF
Height:
5-9
Weight:
165
Class:
Junior
Major:
Criminal Justice
Hometown:
San Marcos, Calif.
Prev School:
La Jolla HS

Summer League / MLB: Played for the Wilson Tabs in the 2003 Coastal Plains Summer League, batting .229 over 26 games... scored 10 runs and had eight RBI, including four doubles, a triple and a homer... played for the North County Waves in the Summer of 2002, grabbing a double and three walks over 17 games.

2004 (Junior): Batted .238 in 50 games with 28 starts, starting 17 times in right, nine times in centerfield and twice in leftfield... scored 19 runs and drove on a career-best 17 runs... hit the game-winning RBI single in the ninth inning in the opener of the 2004 Playoffs against St. John’s to propel The Beach into the championship round and eventual Super Regional for the second-straight season... had a two-run double and another RBI double as part of 2-for-4 day with three RBI at Cal Poly on April 23... had three runs, a sacrifice fly and two spectacular catches at CS Northridge on April 8... made two great defensive catches the week prior at CS Fullerton... had a a two-run double during the series as well... had a bases-loaded, three-run double against USC on February 15.

2003 (Sophomore): Batted .286 with 24 runs and a .411 on-base percentage as a starter in center and right field... had 26 starts in center and 20 in right... had five doubles and 12 RBI... walked 16 times and was hit by a pitch 13 times, both second on the team... led team with nine steals in 14 attempts... also put down 12 sacrifice bunts, second on the team... did not make an error in 101 attempts in the outfield... tied for second in the Big West in bunts behind leader and teammate Josh Buhagiar and 10th in the Big West in steals... went 8-for-9 over four games versus USC and Washington State early in the season... went 2-for-2 with an RBI single and a hit by pitch against USC on February 8 and 3-for-3 with another RBI single and a hit by pitch the next day... went 1-for-2 with two walks, a sacrifice fly and two RBI against Washington State on February 14, added two hits in two at-bats including a walk, two runs and a double the next day... went 2-for-3 with a hit by pitch at Baylor on March 7... went 3-for-4 with two doubles at UC Irvine on April 11... went 2-for-2 with two runs, including two hit by pitches on April 27 at UC Santa Barbara... tied game with an RBI single against Miami on May 22 in 2-for-3 afternoon... made diving catch in right centerfield in the fourth inning of the season opener against Arizona State, ending the inning and holding ASU to 2-0 lead. The 49ers ended up winning 11-5.

2002 (Freshman): Batted .292 over 22 games and four starts… scored seven runs and had three doubles… played 14 games in the outfield, pinch hit seven times and pinch ran eight others… scored go-ahead run in seventh inning versus Wichita State on March 20 after leading off inning with a pinch-hit double... went 3-for-5 with a run and a double in start in the outfield at Louisiana State on March 3... scored two runs versus Pacific on May 17… went 1-for-1 with an RBI and a double in at Stanford.

High School: Lettered four years in baseball, the last three at La Jolla High... named all-league as a junior... three-time gold glove award winner... league’s Rookie of the Year in 1998... ranked in the top-five on the school’s all-time career average charts... batted .320 as a senior and .370 as a junior... team won the CIF Division III Championship in 2000 and reached the playoffs all three seasons..

Personal: Son of Jesse and Martha Velazco... uncle, Arturo, played professional soccer... cousin, Scott Gomez, plays for the New Jersey Devils... majoring in criminal justice.