Hillman hammering for red-hot Pirates

Orange Coast College Coach John Altobelli would like to take credit for spotting the hidden baseball talent that existed in Drew Hillman. Instead, he recalls the first time he took notice of the then-El Toro High standout, during a winter league game against Woodbridge, where Altobelli’s son, JJ played.

“[Hillman] hit a ball about 500 feet, and I immediately thought, ‘I want that guy,’ ” Altobelli recalled with a laugh. “I tell people it was my very keen eye for talent.”

Hillman did not open the kinds of eyes he had hoped for in high school, where he split time between the diamond and the basketball court, starting two seasons, the latter as an all-league point guard for one of the top basketball teams in Orange County.

But ever since coming to Orange Coast, he has been a sight for appreciative eyes.

The sophomore third baseman enters the four-team, double-elimination state championship tournament leading Pirates regulars in hitting (.373) home runs (11) and runs batted in (52). His school-single-season-record 20 doubles have helped him produce a team-best .679 slugging percentage and 34 of his 72 hits this season have been for extra bases (a nearly unheard of 47.2%).

Hillman was a first-team All-Southern California and All-Orange Empire Conference performer as a freshman and repeated as an all-conference choice this season, which he hopes ends in OCC’s fourth state title, its first since 1980.

The Pirates (34-13), who claimed the regular-season conference title and have breezed through regional and super regional tournaments, meet San Joaquin Delta in the second of two opening-round games tonight at 6 at Fresno City College.

Diablo Valley faces Santa Ana at noon.

He signed before the season to continue his career at UC Irvine and the 6-foot-1, 200-pounder said playing baseball year-round for the first time in his life has helped make his dreams of playing against Division I competition a reality.

“I loved basketball. That was my sport,” the Hillman said. “But I knew I had more of a future in baseball and I wanted to try to see how far I could go with baseball.

“I had an OK junior [baseball season], then I started working really hard my senior year, thinking I really wanted to go down this path for baseball. I wanted to see how good I could get.

“I had some offers from some NAIA and Division III schools, but I wanted to play Division I. [Landing that Division I opportunity] was the whole reason I came [to OCC].”

Altobelli has been impressed, and thankful, with Hillman’s contributions.

“He has been awesome to watch,” Altobelli said. “Since he has started playing baseball year-round, he has made a tremendous leap.”

Hillman, whose father, Brad — a former baseball player at Cypress College and Cal State Los Angeles — installed a batting cage in the backyard when Hillman was 13, said things could not have worked out better.

“I’ve worked hard for it, but it has kind of all fallen into place,” Hillman said. “All the hard work is starting to pay off; the long days in the cage and stuff like that.

“My mom [Kris] always wanted me to go to a four-year school, so coming here to a two-year, she was a little skeptical. “But I’m glad I came here. I think it was a great choice.”

Hillman said working with former Aliso Niguel High Coach Mike Chapman helped him shorten his swing and some off-season workouts with St. Louis Cardinals infielder-outfielder Skip Schumaker, who played at Aliso Niguel, helped him develop further.

“[Schumaker] showed me drills he learned from guys like Albert Pujols and Mark McGwire,” Hillman said.

Now, Hillman hopes to show the spectators and opponents in Fresno that he has more in common with those noted sluggers than just practice routines.