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Following a playoff loss to El Camino, the Lancers baseball team concluded their season. For some players it meant another year to chase a title while for others it meant the end of their playing career at PCC. For Gordon Ingebritson it meant an end to a historically dominant era of pitching and the beginning of the next stage of his baseball career at UC Irvine next year.

Gordon Ingebritson was outright compelling in his two season career at PCC, he is the winningest pitcher in PCC history with 13 career wins. Statistically he ranks in the elite category of all pitching stats. He is tied for first in PCC history in wins with 7 in 2018 and tied for second with 6 wins in 2019 according records dating back to 1962. His ERA of 2.29 in 2018 is third overall and was the lowest since 1964 when two other pitchers managed this impressive feat. He had 76 strikeouts in 2019 which was second highest overall and only two strikeouts short of the school record.

His career ERA at home is a rock bottom 1.93. While his ERA of 3.41 in 2019 seems a little high he has the second lowest ERA given 90 innings pitched in a season. Although all these stats are amazing and show his prowess on the mound, the most impressive aspect was his dependability. He pitched 90 innings a season during his career. PCC records only show two other pitchers since 1999 with a similar workload and only one of them had a lower ERA.

While on a visit to PCC to see the program, he was instantly impressed by Coach Pat McGee and the upswing of competitiveness of PCC baseball. At the time PCC baseball was coming off its first winning season since 2003 respectively. The respect between Coach McGee and Gordon is mutual, with both crediting each other for their success.

“I heard great things about PCC about how they were growing and after meeting with Coach McGee before my first season, I knew right off the bat it was where I wanted to play,” Ingebritson explained. “Coach McGee has had a tremendous impact on my life and he is the real reason PCC is on the map. He would go to war for all his guys and it makes you want to battle for him everytime you’re on the field.”

When asked about how coach McGee would describe Gordon he replied: “He’s a competitor, he’s passionate, he’s committed to his craft and he’s a great leader. It’s difficult for a pitcher to lead because they don’t play everyday but he came on the mound every seven days for two years and helped lead the team.”

After being asked about his approach to leading the team Ingebritson responded: “When I wasn’t on the mound, I did my best to keep guys motivated and communicate with the other pitchers. Whether it was the starter that day or helping the bullpen guys with their approach coming in.”

Gordon’s career at PCC was not focused solely on his own success but of the success of the team. A true quality of a leader and something every coach can admire from a player. A pitcher can only play once a week but Gordon helped lead every day.

“He’s the best player to come through the program since I’ve been here,” head coach McGee said. “I’m indebted to him for changing the perception of PCC Baseball. I put him up for pitcher of the year in our conference and no one else put up a name.”

Gordon was undeniably the best pitcher in the conference but apart from the stat sheet he was respected by the whole league. Surely there are coaches in the conference that are proud of their players. However, the sentiment they displayed with the unanimous decision for Gordon to win Southern Coast Conference Pitcher of the Year tells the whole story of how respected he was within the conference.

“It really meant a lot to me, it feels good to get acknowledgement and respect from the teams that I competed hard against for two years,” Gordon said of the experience.

Baseball is known for the mental game within the physical game itself. Gordon prides himself in his ability to stay a step ahead of the batter and maintaining a mental advantage.

“I’ve learned a lot for over the course of my two years. A lot being mental and how to carry myself as a student athlete,” Gordon reflected. “Another thing is being able to make my adjustments to hitters as they are making their [adjustments] to my pitching style.”

When asked what the keys to his success of his PCC career were he responded: “A big jump from highschool to college baseball is the length of the season, I think a big key to my success was staying motivated and locked in every time I took the ball. It’s real easy to mail it in as the season gets tough but that’s where I felt like I learned the most about myself and how to get hitters out.”

Gordon Ingebritson was the ultimate competitor during his time at PCC and UC Irvine can expect nothing but the same.

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