Tyler Gilbert gets scholarship to USC

 SBCC sophomore Tyler Gilbert accepted a baseball scholarship to USC on Tuesday, thanks to a new pitch and some added velocity.
 The 6-3 left-handed pitcher from Santa Cruz signed his letter-of-intent during a press conference in the SBCC Sports Pavilion.
 "I chose USC over a few other schools because I felt like it was the right fit," said Gilbert, who was the WSC North Pitcher of the Year last season. "They've got a good culture and  tradition and the academics … Being a private school, they have some great academics.
 "Plus the location. I wanted to stay in California, preferably Southern California. SC was the ideal spot."
 Gilbert, who went to San Lorenzo Valley High in Santa Cruz, also made the All-Southern Cal team after his freshman year and helped SBCC finish second in the WSC North. He was 9-2 last season with a 2.43 ERA. He struck out 73, including a single-game high of 12, and walked 17. Opponents batted just .201 against him.
 "I developed my best pitch last season, a splitter," he said. "That helped me out big time in getting those stats. Last year was cool because I actually got in a full year without getting hurt. I got injured in both my junior and senior year of high school."
 The University of San Diego, Washinton, UCSB and Cal Poly were also interested in Gilbert.
 At the start of last year, Gilbert was clocked in the 82-85 mph range. He got consistently faster over the course of the year and Coach Jeff Walker said he was up in the 92-mph range in fall ball.
 "Last year, we won pretty much every time he touched the baseball," said Walker. "He was much deserving of the accolades he got last year. Our goal for him was to be the best pitcher in the conference last year and the best pitcher in California this year. That's a very achievable goal."
 Walker said Gilbert was on the radar of many college teams and he expects him to be picked in the 2014 Major League Draft in June.
 Gilbert is the fourth player off the 2013 baseball team to receive an NCAA Div. 1 scholarship. Shortstop Steven Reveles signed with Nebraska, outfielder Zach Zehner is playing at Cal Poly and pitcher Brendon Shoemake went to Youngstown State.