Bay Area Issue 177, March 2020

MARCH 2020

BAY AREA EDITION

VOL. 11 ISSUE 177

SportStars Official Media Partners

SportStars

Premier Partners Nicole May

Time To Shine

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ell, we’re not going to lie. It sure was nice putting together a Baseball/Softball Preview edition when the weather was actually sunny.

That has not been the case in recent years.

All this good weather should have spring sports fans absolutely juiced to get outdoors and see some events.

Of course, we’re in that crazy crossover period of the high school sports calendar where playoff basketball and soccer won’t let us fully divert our attention to spring just yet. This issue reflects that split focus. We’re pivoting to spring with four baseball/softball features plus preseason rankings and 20 players to watch for both sports, but we still made sure to get some hoops and wrestling coverage in as well.

We’ll be back in two weeks with an online edition devoted to wrapping up the winter sports. Then one week after that, we’ll be releasing our 10th Annual Camps and Clinics Resource Guide. And while you might be using that to plan out your child’s summer, we’re be deep-diving into the spring sports for our April issue.

As for spring, here’s a few of the storylines we’ll be following.

FOOTHILL-PLEASANTON SOFTBALL: You might just read a little about the Falcons this issue, and see their senior pitcher Nicole May mentioned a time or two. May, and her fellow four-year varsity companions Courtney Beaudin and Hailey Hayes, already have an undefeated North Coast Section championship season in their rear view.

So what can they do for an encore?

BASEBALL DRAFT WATCH: From De La Salle left-handed ace Kyle Harrison, to Turlock catcher Tyler Soderstrom, NorCal’s 2020 class has a lot of talented players who could hear their names called this June. But before that moment comes, just how many special seasons are we likely to witness? We’re hoping for a lot.

ETHAN HU, HARKER-SAN JOSE SWIMMING PHENOM: Speaking of encores, we’re not exactly sure what Hu could accomplish in order to top his 2019 season. All he did was win CIF State titles in the 200 individual medley and 100 butterfly — setting meet records in both events. That came on the heels of the Central Coast Section Championships in which he set meet records in the same two events while also setting a third meet record with the Eagles’ 200 medley relay team.

JAMAR MARSHALL, THE FLASH OF ST. MARY’S-STOCKTON: Can the Rams’ blazing-fast hurdler close out his final season by sweeping both the 110 and 300 events at the CIF State Meet? He was incredibly close last June. Marshall posted the top times in both events in Friday qualifying. In the finals the next day, he got the first half of the double by edging Clovis North-Fresno’s Caleb Foster by four-tenths of a second to win gold in the 110 hurdles.

But later in the meet he settled for bronze in the 300 meter event.

So yeah, those are just a few stories we hope follow out there in the glorious sunshine. We’ll hope you keep checking in to read them. ✪

YOUR TICKET TO CALIFORNIA SPORTS ADMIT ONE; RAIN OR SHINE This Vol. #11, March 2020 Whole No. 177 is published by Caliente!

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BISHOP O’DOWDOAKLAND - BASKETBALL SENIOR The 6-foot-5, Cal-bound senior forward helped propel the Dragons into the North Coast Section Open Division semifnals with 18 points and nine rebounds in an 86-60 win over Dougherty Valley-San Ramon on Feb. 20. Bowser and the Dragons are the No. 3 seed in the field and entered the playoffs as SportStars’ No. 3-ranked NorCal team, right behind No. 2 Dublin (the top seed in the Open bracket).

O’Dowd was 20-7 after the win over Dougherty Valley and 16-0 against NorCal opponents.

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Behind the Clipboard by Clay Kallam

State Of Complexities We were talking after last week’s playoff games about NorCals, and we know that if you win in your section, you get to go to NorCals. But then one guy said that the NorCal divisions are different than ours, so that even if we’re Div. III in North Coast we could be a different division in NorCals. And then somebody brought up the Open and we didn’t really get that, either. Do all the teams in the Open go into NorCals? If they do, do they all go in the Open? Or do some Open losers not get into NorCals? It just sounds way too complicated.

J.R., Lafayette

I

t is way too complicated.

The reasons why it’s so complicated are even more complicated, so if you really want to know, send me an email — but trust me, you don’t want to know.

But complicated or not, this is how it is: 1) Section playoffs. There are six sections of wildly varying sizes in NorCal. The North Coast Section is the biggest, followed by the Sac-Joaquin and then Central Coast. Next is the Northern Section, followed by Oakland and San Francisco, which are also sections on their own, despite their small size.

Each section has its own playoffs. Those playoffs are divided by division, and NCS (for the first time) and CCS both have Open divisions — that is, divisions filled with the best teams regardless of enrollment. CCS, NCS and SJS all have six other divisions, but teams in Div. VI are not eligible for state championships, though they are eligible for NorCal titles. The Northern Section only has Divisions II through VI, and we’re not going down the rabbit hole of Oakland and San Francisco, so just pretend they’re not part of this discussion (even though two Oakland girls teams won state titles last year).

Each section also has a certain number of NorCal playoff slots it can fill, and it’s up to each section how to fill them. That too is a complicated process, but to finally answer one of your questions, all the Open teams in NCS and CCS go to NorCals.

2) NorCals. Once each section decides which teams have qualified for NorCals, they submit an ordered list to a state-wide committee. Teams are numbered 1 through 25 (or however many berths a section has) regardless of enrollment.

In practice, though, sections will almost always label their Div. I winner as better than their Div. II winner, and so on. What’s tricky is whether they have the Div. I runner-up ahead of the Div. II winner, or the Div. IV winner, if the team is really good, ahead of the Div. III winner.

The California Interscholastic Federation committee then takes those lists and places teams in seven different brackets: Open and Divisions I-VI. Step one is picking the Open teams — and no one knows how many NorCal teams will go Open, because every year some Central Section teams (not to be confused with the Central Coast) are moved into NorCal brackets even though they are in the SoCal region.

In any event, six or eight teams will wind up in the Open. Looking at this year’s records, the teams will come from CCS, NCS, SJS and maybe the Central Section. (If Central Section teams come north, the bracket will most likely be eight.)

But which six? The CIF committee starts with the ordered lists, but could pick teams from any section. It’s all a mystery.

The same process is repeated in each division, with teams slotted in from the various sections wherever the committee wants to put them, so a Div. III team from NCS could be in Div. I in NorCals. It all depends on those ordered lists and how the committee decides to make them work together.

3) State. Finally, it gets simple. The winner of the North plays the winner of the South.

One game.

If only it were that clear before the last game. ✪

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Diamond Rings Baseball, Softball To Get CIF Regionals In 2021

S

ome of the details still need to be determined, but starting next spring the very best baseball and softball teams in Northern California will be playing each other at the end of the season.

At last January’s CIF State Federated Council meeting, members voted by a margin of 88-53 to approve a proposal that would allow the CIF to conduct regional baseball and softball playoffs starting with the 2021 season.

It will be the first time ever that NorCal and SoCal section champions in softball will be facing off against each other after the various CIF section championships are decided.

It actually won’t be the first time ever for baseball. The CIF had state baseball championships for five years from 1918 to 1922. Two schools that still play the sport, Oakland Tech and Sacramento, won state titles in 1919 and 1922, respectively.

This isn’t going to be a CIF state championship like in boys and girls basketball or girls volleyball with Open Divisions. It’s more going to be like it is in soccer and boys volleyball, which means regional championships and no state titles.

In those other sports with regional championships and no state, the CIF Central Section teams are in the south. A CIF Central Section team from Central-Fresno just represented the north and won the most recent CIF Division 1-AA state football championship.

The proposal calls for the regional championships to be played in the first week of June, but travel teams in softball already are in major tournaments by then. The more likely scenario is for the entire 2021 softball season to get pushed up by two weeks so the new regional championships can be done before all of the girls have started playing for their clubs. It may be that baseball and softball have regional playoffs on different weekends.

It doesn’t take long to start imagining what some of the matchups in a CIF NorCal baseball or softball championship might look like.

For baseball just last season, much was made of what might have happened had De La Salle-Concord and Valley Christian-San Jose played at the end. The Spartans were 29-1 and were State Team of the Year with four straight CIF North Coast Section Division I titles. Their only loss, though, came in the second game of the season to a St. Francis-Mountain View squad from the same league as Valley Christian. The Warriors won their second straight CIF Central Coast Section Open Division crown and were No. 4 in the final state rankings at 29-4.

Baseball, however, can be the sport with the most upsets so it might not have been a sure thing that either De La Salle or Valley Christian would have won the NorCal regional title last season.

Vacaville (31-2) would have been a serious contender as well. The Bulldogs won their second straight CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I crown.

NorCal’s best softball team last season was Foothill-Pleasanton. The Falcons, who also are the preseason No. 1 for the region, completed a 28-0 record by winning their second NCS D1 title in the last three years. The prospects of having to be in a NorCal regional playoff after the NCS would definitely help with their strength of schedule.

Looking at last year’s final rankings, Foothill would have had to deal with other NorCal contenders such as Oakdale (29-1-1) from the Sac-Joaquin Section, CCS Div. I champ Archbishop Mitty-San Jose and Sac-Joaquin Div. I champ Whitney-Rocklin. The Falcons actually beat both of those last two teams during the season, but Oakdale was the SJS Div. III champ and you’d assume that competitiveequity seeding would have placed the Mustangs in Div. I (and gave them a shot to play Foothill).

It’s too bad the CIF regional championships aren’t starting this year for Foothill. Because by the time they do start, pitcher Nicole May will be at Oklahoma and catcher Courtney Beaudin will be at UCLA. If someone were to ask what are the best sports for California as a state, considering all-time history, all-time great players, the Olympics and many other factors, baseball and softball would be right at the top (along with perhaps swimming). It’s about time the CIF is going to be involved in putting on championship events in both. ✪

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GRIDIRON GANG Members of the 2020 De La Salle baseball team who also played football in the fall.

Vince Bianchina

SS

Senior

Keoni Coloma

OF

Senior

Mickey Radanovich

RHP

Junior

Charles McAdoo

3B

Senior

AJ Bianchina

IF

Sophomore

Dorian Hale

LHP

Junior

Nico Torrez

OF

Junior

Zeke Berry (pictured)

OF

Sophomore

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D

e La Salle will always be known as a football school.

For as many championship banners as the Concord school’s other sports programs hang on its gymnasium walls, there aren’t any best-selling books or Hollywood movies coming down the pike about them.

And even if that’s true, it’s hard not to take notice of what the De La Salle baseball program has been doing over the past six seasons. Since 2014, the Spartans have netted five North Coast Section Division I championships, including each of the last four. They open the 2020 season ranked No. 1 in the state and No. 3 in the nation while also carrying a 28-game win streak into the season.

Sounds a lot like the team that plays on the field located less than 50 yards from their left field foul line.

So maybe it’s also not a surprise that a closer look at coach David Jeans’ recent championship rosters reveals more than a few guys who also wear pads in the fall.

The contributions of these players have ranged from reserve roles to starters, and the impact is hard to ignore at this point.

The 2014 team that began this current run included then-starting quarterback Chris Williams starting at first base and leading the team in hits, and running back Johnny Velasco hitting .397 and tying Williams for a team-best nine doubles.

This year’s roster will include at least nine football crossovers, including four who project as everyday starters.

“I was a football-baseball guy, and (De La Salle football coach) Justin Alumbaugh was a football-baseball guy,” Jeans said Feb. 25 as his team worked in the batting cages while a JV game occupied the Spartans’ home diamond. “We like the toughness and the athleticism — and I’m not saying baseball guys aren’t tough. But the crossover guys, there’s something to be said about strapping on football gear and having to go across the middle against (mythical national champion) St. John Bosco.

“Charles McAdoo had to tackle (6-foot-4, 235-pound Clemson-bound quarterback) DJ Uiagalelei. There’s

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“We like the toughness and the athleticism — and I’m not saying baseball guys aren’t tough. But the crossover guys, there’s something to be said about strapping on football gear and having to go across the middle against (mythical national champion) St. John Bosco.”

— De La Salle baseball coach David Jeans

Vince Bianchina

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Mason Carvacho

Keoni Coloma

a toughness and a spirit and a fight in them. We like that mentality. We try to play that way as baseball players. We teach the same process.”

Two of those crossover guys, McAdoo and Vince Bianchina, will hold down the left side of the infield and be key members of the team’s senior leadership.

Bianchina is in his third year of varsity and his second as the Spartans’ shortstop. He’s committed to Northwestern after hitting .419 in 27 games last season. San Jose State-bound third baseman McAdoo appeared in all 30 games last season. He hit .333 and finished third on the team with 26 RBI. Both believe their football experience has played a key role in their baseball contributions.

“Football did a good job of teaching us how to lead,” Bianchina said. “It also did a great job of getting McAdoo and I stronger and faster. Both sports create an awesome work ethic both on and off the field.”

Kyle Harrison is another senior leader on this roster. He’s a baseball guy, and a really good one. The lefthanded pitcher will be the team ace this spring before moving on to UCLA or a Major League Baseball organization.

He sees the impact the football guys bring to the table.

“Having them helps the culture a little bit,” Harrison said. “It helps discipline and helps the whole maturity of the team. Having their presence and the work ethic that football instills in them, it carries over to baseball.”

It doesn’t hurt when they can hit like Bianchina and McAdoo. Two-thirds of the starting outfield will feature football guys, too. Left fielder Keoni Coloma hit over .380 in 24 games last season. Sophomore Zeke Berry, who emerged as a young receiving talent in the fall, appears to have won the centerfield job.

Junior right fielder Blake Burke, a baseball guy, begins his third year of varsity. He led the team with four homers in 2019 and finished second in RBI (28).

Harrison, Burke and the three football seniors are part of a group that has only known vast success on the diamond.

Does Jeans worry if they can stay hungry? “No. Every year is a new puzzle for us,” said the coach who has compiled a 180-48 record through his first eight seasons with the Spartans. “They tend to find their own story, and we talk about that. They wanted to go pinstripes this year and we were like, ‘That’s last 14

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Cameron Barger

year. That’s over. This year we’re going to do new uniforms and create our own story.’”

Harrison said he and the other seniors are pitching a similar message to the younger core.

“Nothing is given. It’s a new year every year. What we did last year doesn’t matter. It’s a whole new team. A whole new group of players. We’ve got to work together and figure out what kind of a team we are. Once we figure that out and work together, we can do great things like we did last year.”

While Harrison is a thunderbolt at the top of the rotation, many of the new contributors this season will be pitchers. If a Feb. 22 scrimmage with fellow NorCal-power Valley Christian-San Jose is any indication, the Spartans ought to be OK in that department.

Seniors Cameron Barger, Mason Carvacho, Jack Pogacar and Carter Stevenson all seem poised to make impacts from the mound. Incoming junior transfer Johnny Burns may be a factor as well.

If things fall into place, the Spartans could find themselves with a chance to make history come the final weekend of May. Another NCS title would be five in a row, which would be a section-wide first. It would also tie the Spartans with small-school St. Bernard-Eureka for the most NCS baseball titles all time with 13. (Assuming St. Bernard doesn’t win the Div. VI title this season).

But leave it to a football guy to assure that this group isn’t ready — yet.

“I’m just trying to get this next class ready for what we need to go through,” McAdoo said. “We say the little things count, and that’s what’s going to work for this team. We need to just keep working hard, stay active and do what we’re doing.”

Tackling shouldn’t be required. But the Spartans have some guys, if needed. ✪ Follow Us On Twitter & Instagram, Like Us On Facebook!

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PRESEASON NORCAL BASEBALL

1. DE LA SALLE (29-1 in 2019) The Spartans, which enter the season in the midst of a 28-game win streak, not only top our preseason rankings, but Cal-Hi Sports’ state rankings as well, and are No. 3 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 national rankings. Reigning SportStars NorCal Pitcher of the Year, Kyle Harrison, is the senior ace and should get plenty of offensive support from a veteran lineup.

2. VALLEY CHRISTIAN-SAN JOSE (29-4) Stanford-bound senior outfielder Eddie Park and Kansas-commit junior pitcher Jonathan Cymrot lead the way for the three-time defending Central Coast Section champs. Cymrot was the 2019 Cal-Hi Sports State Sophomore of the Year and leads the staff while also contributing the bat. Other key returners include Stevie Hom, Jack McGrew and Trevor Haskins.

3. JESUIT-CARMICHAEL (23-11) When you can start out with a battery of cousins Anthony Susac at pitcher and Daniel Susac at catcher, things are good. But the Marauders will bring back more than just that as they aim for a return to the Sac-Joaquin Section Div. I finals.

4. TURLOCK (22-7)

Tyler Soderstrom, Turlock

With the incoming transfer of former Jesuit pitcher, Andy Owen, the Bulldogs will open the season with three seniors from last summer’s Area Code Games. The other two, Cole Carrigg and Tyler Soderstrom combined for 75 hits, 64 runs, 46 RBI and 19 doubles last season.

5. HERITAGE-BRENTWOOD (21-7) Nevada-bound shortstop and pitcher Ryan Jackson (.582, 53 hits, 28 RBI last season) will lead a Patriots team that returns five of its top six run producers.

6. VACAVILLE (31-2) The two-time SJS Div. I defending champions lost some pretty big names to graduation, but the Bulldogs’ 2020 class should be able to hold its own. Seniors Jared Breedwell, Brian McClellin, Kenny DeCelle and Michael Brown combined for 34 doubles last season.

Michael Brown, Vacaville

7. ARCHBISHOP MITTY-SAN JOSE (21-11) Arizona-bound senior Nick Yorke has hit .453 with 126 hits and 71 RBI in 89 career games with the Monarchs. He leads the way with his sophomore brother Zach not far behind.

8. ACALANES-LAFAYETTE (23-3) Washington-bound two-way star Nick Kresnak (.366, 19 RBI, 6-2, 1.09 ERA) returns alongside Tommy Thrasher (21 RBI), Nicholas Bamont (.324, 12 RBI) and Davis Diaz (.367, 21 runs).

9. OAKMONT-ROSEVILLE (30-3) Pitcher and shortstop TJ Nichols, catcher Carson Blatnick and outfield Andrew Paolini lead a slew of returning talent for the defending SJS Div. II champs.

10. ST. FRANCIS-MOUNTAIN VIEW (17-12) Texas commit and USA Baseball standout, Petey Halpin, transferred to Mira CostaManhattan Beach. But senior ace Joey Schott (6-2, 1.52 ERA) returns, as does infielder Jeter Ybarra.

11. Folsom (25-6)

16. Cardinal Newman-Santa Rosa (21-7)

12. Franklin-Elk Grove (20-8)

17. Foothill-Pleasanton (20-8)

13. Los Gatos (21-8)

18. Palo Alto (20-10)

14. Lodi (23-6)

19. San Ramon Valley-Danville (15-12)

15. Serra-San Mateo (19-11)

20. Campolindo-Moraga (11-15)

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NORCAL BASEBALL PLAYERS TO WATCH

PITCHERS Kyle Harrison | De La Salle-Concord | Sr. Our 2019 NorCal Pitcher of the Year went 10-0 with a 1.26 ERA and struck out 103 batters over 61 innings pitched. He also tied for fourth on the team in in RBI with 20.

Joey Schott | St Francis-Mountain View | Sr. He was named the West Catholic Athletic League Pitcher of the Year after going 6-2 with a save, striking out 52 and walking just 12 over 60 innings.

Jonathan Cymrot | Valley Christian | Jr. Cal-Hi Sports’ 2019 State Sophomore Of The Year went 8-1 with a 1.11 ERA while hitting .310 with 20 runs scored and 20 batted in. He’s committed to Arizona for 2021.

caTCHERS Daniel Susac | Jesuit-Carmichael | Sr. Arizona commit is considered one of the top catching prospects in the country. He tallied 31 hits, 19 RBI, seven doubles and three homers over 30 games in 2019.

Jonathan Cymrot, Valley Christian

Tyler Soderstrom | Turlock | Sr. He hit .450 with 27 RBI, 12 doubles and tied for the team lead with 32 runs scored last season. He will likely face the choice of UCLA or a big paycheck.

Carson Blatnick | Oakmont-Roseville | Sr. Few SJS batteries were better than this Washington State-commit and fellow NorCal Player to Watch, TJ Nichols. Blatnick batted .448 with nearly as many RBI (28) as hits (30).

Malcolm Moore | McClatchy-Sacramento | So. Moore made a massive impression during a freshman season that included team-bests in hits (40), runs (37), RBI (35), triples (8) and HR (3).

infielders Nick Yorke | Archbishop Mitty-San Jose | Sr. Another Arizona-bound talent, Yorke led the Monarchs with a .505 batting average, 50 hits, 38 runs scored, 40 RBI and 7 HRs among his 19 extra-base hits last season.

TJ Nichols | Oakmont-Roseville | Sr. Nichols helped propel Vikings to an SJS Div. II title by going 9-1 with a 0.24 ERA and 91 strikeouts. He also hit .523 with 45 hits, 20 RBI and 10 doubles.

Tommy Troy | Los Gatos | Sr. Committed to Stanford, Troy led the 21-win Wildcats in runs (30), hits (32), doubles (7) and home runs (5) last season.

Cole Winters | Bear River-Grass Valley | Sr. Winters finished second in the Sac-Joaquin Section with 52 hits in 2019. His 50 RBI also ranked second in the section, among stats reported to MaxPreps.

Michael Brown | Vacaville | Sr. A slugging first baseball who sports an MLB bloodline smacked 12 doubles and 3 HR for the 31-win SJS Div. I champs last season.

Jack Grant | San Ramon Valley-Danville | Sr. An Arizona-bound shortstop, Grant was an Area Code Games selection after a junior year in which he batted .407 and led the Wolves in both hits (35) and RBI (21).

MULTI-PURPOSE Nick Kresnak | Acalanes-Lafayette | Sr. The Washington-commit left the gridiron to focus on baseball in 2020, which could mean an even bigger year than last year’s team-best .366 average and 1.09 ERA over 45 innings.

Ryan Jackson | Heritage-Brentwood | Sr. A shortstop and hard-throwing righty, the Nevada-commit batted .582 with 53 hits and 28 RBI as a junior. He also went 4-0 with two saves and a 0.76 ERA. Follow Us On Twitter & Instagram, Like Us On Facebook!

Ryan Jackson, Heritage

outfielders Eddie Park | Valley Christian | Sr. The Stanford-bound talent led the Central Coast Section Open Div. champs in runs (43) and hits (40). He played all 32 games without committing an error.

Chase Davis | Franklin-Stockton | Sr. Davis begins his fourth year of varsity at Franklin. The Arizona commit scored 33 runs and saw more than half of his hits go for extra bases last season.

CJ Hutton | Folsom | Sr. Hutton hit for a .412 average with 35 hits and 26 runs scored as a junior. This fall he was a 1,000-yard receiver for the football team. He’s committed to play both sports for UC Davis.

Blake Burke | De La Salle | Jr. Burke has all kinds of pop in his left-handed stroke. The Tennessee commit hit .395 with 34 hits, 28 RBI, 10 doubles and four homers as a sophomore last season.

Carson Yates | Leland-San Jose | Sr. He had an offer to play quarterback at San Jose State, but chose UCLA baseball instead.

Yates led the Chargers with 41 hits a year ago, adding 27 runs, 27 RBI and 13 stolen bases. ✪

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NCVA 18s Wrap Intense Power League, Set Sights On Reno

W

hen a collection of all-star teams come together to comprise a Power League, it’s fair to expect intense competition and a tight championship race.

But the 2020 Northern California Volleyball Association’s 18U Girls Power League took that concept to the extreme this winter.

After four Power League weekends from mid-December to late February, the top three teams are separated by one point. One. Single. Point.

The team 18-Greg from Ripon’s Rage Volleyball Club held the points lead heading into the Power League Regional Championships on Feb. 29-March 1 at Cal Expo in Sacramento. Rage 18-Greg had a pair of third-place finishes, a second and a first during the Power League season, compiling a points total of 1,341.

Right behind them, in a tie at 1,340 points, sat Absolute Volleyball’s 18-Black of San Rafael and Rage Sacramento’s 18-Jenny.

All three programs feature some of the biggest high school volleyball stars from throughout Northern California.

The barely-first-place Rage 18-Greg includes four-year St. Francis-Sacramento star Alexa Edwards. The Fresno State-bound Edwards is the Troubadours’ career leader in both kills and digs. Rage 18-Greg also features Ramonni Cook, the imposing 6-foot middle blocker of Cosumnes Oaks-Elk Grove. Cook had 464 kills and 48 blocks for the Wolfpack this past fall.

Absolute 18-Black’s roster features several members of the Marin Catholic-Kentfield team that won the CIF Open Division Northern Regional title in November. That includes the top star from that team, Loyola Marymount-bound outside hitter Kari Geissberger.

As for Rage Sacramento’s 18-Jenny, their stars include Cook’s setter at Cosumnes Oaks, Haley Burdo. Burdo finished just shy of 1,000 assists for the Wolfpack this season and is committed to Stanislaus State. Instead of feeding Cook, she now sets up Nevada Union-Grass Valley’s thunder arm, Faith Menary. Menary pounded out 656 kills for the Miners in 2019, averaging close to five per set.

After the three teams finish at Regionals, the two Rage teams will visit Reno March 6-8 for NCVA’s Sierra Northern Qualifier. Both teams will be in the 18 Open Division, hoping to punch a ticket to return to Reno two months later for the USA Volleyball 18s National Championships on May 1-3.

Absolute 18-Black will be traveling to Boston that weekend to compete in the Boston Festival Tournament. ✪ Rage Greg’s Alexa Edwards 18

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Rage Jenny’s Haley Burdo

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FENCES

BEWARE A Dynamic Incoming Freshman Adds To An Already Fierce Lineup That Has Acalanes Aiming For Its First NCS Title Story By Mike Wood Photos By Chace Bryson & Gint Federas

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March 2020

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reshman prospect Hailey Stripling made a big impression in her first live action as a high school player. Literally. Just look at the fence on the Acalanes High softball diamond.

Stripling hit the wall in each of her first two at-bats on her new home field in Lafayette in the Dons’ Feb. 18 scrimmage with Berean Christian-Walnut Creek, bashing in an imprint in the outfield fence tarp in her first plate appearance and almost clearing the wall her second time.

“You can see the dent she put out there,” Acalanes coach Victor Silva said afterward, in amazement. “She’s got a work ethic that is off the charts. At the very first practice we had, we were hitting the girls ground balls and she is diving out there. So she earned the respect of everyone the very first day.”

These are exciting times at Acalanes, which has never won a North Coast Section softball championship. Now armed with three legit NCAA Division I-caliber players, optimism is at a fever pitch that the Dons just may break through that NCS glass ceiling.

Stripling is already on the collegiate radar, and combined with Iowa State signee Kaylee Pond, junior Santa Clara commit Morgan Salmon and a host of others, they are setting a standard for hard work that was evident from the first week of practice.

“This might be the best first week I have ever had since I have been there,” Silva said.

“I can’t ask for any better work ethic; it’s excellent. Fortunately I’ve got a couple girls in Kaylee and Morgan who are not going to let the girls slack. Even if I can’t get them motivated, they will get them motivated.”

Stripling, who is playing second base, adds to a stellar infield anchored by Salmon at shortstop. Pond, who is switching back to softball after an NCS playoff run with the Dons basketball team, will play third base and catcher. She was league MVP in both sports as a junior.

“Kaylee is going to a D-I school, I’ve committed to a D-I school and Hailey is going to be committing when she can, when the rules allow her,” Salmon said. “So I think we have three

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strong D-I players and we have other players who are looking to go to college. This year I think we have a really strong chance to make it.”

Pond, who plays travel ball with Universal Fastpitch out of Martinez, wanted to make her signing day in November something special, hosting the ceremony on the same Junior Optimist Baseball League field in Concord that she began her softball days on at age 4.

Salmon, whose father is from England, plays on the British National Under-22 team and is on the Cal Nuggets travel team in Los Gatos. She committed this fall to Santa Clara.

Stripling, who is with Universal Fastpitch, already has collegiate attention. She’s zeroed in on the Pac12, and Stanford in particular, though the recruiting process must wait until her junior year.

“I like the Pac-12 a lot,” she said. “I want to keep it here (on the West Coast). It’s kind of in the back of my mind, but that is my main goal really, in this sport, so that I can get a great education.”

She already has earned the respect of her teammates.

“She is definitely one of the best, if not the best, freshman we have had and that we probably will have,” Salmon said while being interviewed with Stripling.

Hearing Salmon’s praise, Stripling, in her modest freshman way, quietly responded, “Thank you, Morgan.”

Even with her reserved manner, Stripling lights up when talking about starting her high school softball career.

“This team is very friendly and welcoming,” she said. “And I love the environment. It’s just a great ex22

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Kaylee Pond

perience so far.”

There’s already plenty of returning offensive firepower. Last year, Salmon hit .679 with 37 RBIs, 13 doubles and six home runs. Pond hit .680 with 47 runs scored, 32 RBIs and seven home runs. Center fielder Amy Schwing is back for her junior year after batting .381, with 33 runs scored and 24 RBIs. All three were named to the 2019 All-Bay Area News Group softball team.

Getting Pond back on the softball diamond puts Dons at full strength.

“I have never been around a girl who is so competitive,” Silva said. “She is the type of girl who will race you to the end of the block. She loves to compete.

She loves basketball and I am happy to see her get to play in NCS.” The Dons, who were NCS semifinalists in 2010 and 2013, had title aspirations during their 18-4 season a year ago. They were 10-0 in winning the Diablo Athletic League-Valley championship and built a 14-game win streak as the postseason neared. Earning the No. 7 seed in the NCS Division III playoffs, everything ended with a thud in a 9-0 first-round loss at home to Analy-Sebastopol.

“We basically were a young team and we played our worst game; I think we made something like five errors in the first inning,” Silva said. “It was like a funeral after that game.”

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Salmon said the performance was not representative of the Dons.

“It wasn’t us,” she said. “We were very nervous for that game. We really wanted to win. We were really looking to keep going. It was more of a choke moment.”

This year, the Dons have everyone back but graduated captains Bailee Takano and Madeleine Fink.

“Our leadership this year is really focused on winning,” Salmon said. “Our captains, Riley Nicosia and Jennifer Evaristo, are really keeping us focused and pushing us to work harder and that is also instilled from the coaches as well.”

There’s a strong example of time and dedication by Silva and his staff.

“He’s such a great person,” Pond said. “If he’s not running the practice he is always working on the field. If you drive by his house and his truck is not there, I guarantee he’ll be at the Acalanes softball field.”

Silva employs a rotation at pitcher, and doesn’t look for complete games.

Allison Fink, Ellie Palma and Evan Mirabella will combine in the circle once again.

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Morgan Salmon

“All we need is for our pitchers to hit their spots,” he said. “They don’t even need to overpower anyone, just hit their spots and keep the ball down low, because we will make the plays in the field. What we tried to do last year, and it worked, was let them go once through the lineup, and then switch, and then we might have to bring another one back. It worked and we are going to try to do it again.”

Silva has put some tough matchups on the schedule, with a rematch at Analy on March 16. The Dons also play at defending NCS Div. II champion Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland on April 8, and close the regular season at NCS Div. III semifinalist St. Joseph Notre Dame-Alameda on May 15. There are plenty of challenges that can be big confidence builders.

“We can try to help motivate players into wanting to succeed, but you have to believe in yourself,” Pond said. “It comes down to motivation within yourself. Anyone can tell you are great and can win, but you have to believe it.

“When you play with competitive people who live and breathe softball, good things are going to happen,” she added. “I think this year is going to be great.” ✪ Follow Us On Twitter & Instagram, Like Us On Facebook!

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top20\

PRESEASON NORCAL SOFTBALL

Courtney Beaudin, Foothill

1. FOOTHILL-PLEASANTON (28-0 in 2019)

11. Del Oro-Loomis (21-10-2)

5. AMADOR VALLEY-PLEASANTON (18-9)

Oklahoma-bound pitcher Nicole May, the reigning SportStars NorCal Pitcher of the Year, will be an absolute force once again. And her supporting cast still includes four-year varsity seniors, catcher Courtney Beaudin (UCLA) and middle infielder Hailey Hayes (Boise State). The Falcons begin the year as high as No. 3 in one set of national rankings.

A young and feisty Dons team was largely overlooked a year ago as it played in the shadow of rival Foothill. However, there’s plenty for Amador to be excited about in 2019. Coach Teresa Borchard returns 10 from last year, including 1st-Team all-leaguer Valeria Torres-Colon.

2. ST. FRANCIS-MOUNTAIN VIEW (25-6-1)

It’s hard to beat a 1-2 punch of Savannah Whatley (.544, 26 runs, 43 hits in 2019) and Diamond Holland (.493, 35 runs, 36 hits), but the rest of the the West Catholic Athletic League will give it a try.

The two-time defending Central Coast Section Div. I champs return an array of talent, including senior infielder Hailey Prahm (.424, 39 hits, 30 runs and 30 RBI in 2019). The Lancers also have sophomore Jessica Oakland, who led the team in RBI (35) as a freshman.

Lauren Baker (18-4 as a junior last season) should patrol the circle for St. Francis.

3. NOTRE DAME-SALINAS (23-4) The Spirits are scheduled to return six hitters who had at least 30 hits last season. Junior Angelita Fuentes led that group with team-bests in hits (43), RBI (40) and HR (9). Sophomore Victoria Cervantes batted .500 with 42 hits and 8 HR. Corrine Sangenti had 41 hits and 7 triples in addition to 6 HR. Samantha Rocha (18-3, 1.68 ERA) returns to the circle.

4. SHELDON-SACRAMENTO (19-7-1) 2019 was the rare pedestrian season for Mary Jo Truesdale’s powerhouse program. The Huskies should bounce back with plenty of firepower. That starts with Univ. of North Carolina-bound four-year infielder Kiannah Pierce (.562, 34 runs, 54 hits). Overall, Sheldon returns five of its top seven hitters. If there’s consistency from the circle, look out.

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6. ARCHBISHOP MITTY-SAN JOSE (18-7)

12. Aragon-San Mateo (22-6) 13. Vista Del Lago-Folsom (22-6) 14. San Marin-Novato (18-6) 15. Elk Grove (21-10) 16. Whitney-Rocklin (26-6) 17. Presentation-San Jose (20-6)

7. MARIN CATHOLIC-KENTFIELD (25-1)

18. Vanden-Fairfield (19-8) 19. Carondelet-Concord (14-10-1) 20. East Nicolaus (30-2-2)

Star slugger Julia Scardina is now in the Pac-12 (Utah), but the rest of the Wildcats’ NCS Div. III championship core essentially remains. Two-way talent Annabelle Tepperson (20-1, 1.06 ERA, .405, 30 RBI) now leads the charge.

8. HERITAGE-BRENTWOOD (25-3) Coach Ron Rivers should once again have a potent offense anchored by Washington commit Tianna Bell. Replacing pitcher Delia Scott will be the key to the Patriots’ success.

9. OAKDALE (29-1-1) Any team that discounts the Mustangs because 2019 SportStars NorCal Player of the Year Lexi Webb now plays at Fresno State, will be doing so at its own peril. Five players who posted double-digit RBI numbers all return for 2020.

10. ACALANES-LAFAYETTE (18-4) The Dons are replacing just one starter from last season’s undefeated league champion. The infield duo of junior Morgan Salmon and Kaylee Pond combined for 76 runs, 70 hits, 69 RBI and 13 HR last season.

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20for2020

NORCAL SOFTBALL PLAYERS TO WATCH

PITCHERS Nicole May | Foothill-Pleasanton | Sr. Our 2019 NorCal Player of the Year returns for her fourth and final varsity season as one of the nation’s top pitching talents. The Oklahoma commit went 24-0 with a 0.32 ERA last season.

Bailee Reed | Antioch | Sr. Reed set a school record with 238 strikeouts in 2019 while also tossing a no-hitter and leading the Panthers to the NCS Div. II final.

Kylie Potes | Las Plumas-Oroville | Sr. She led the Northern Section with 278 strikeouts last season, posting a 0.45 ERA, a 16-5 record and helped herself with a .455 batting average on 40 hits.

caTCHERS Courtney Beaudin | Foothill-Pleasanton | Sr. One of the state’s top catching prospects, the UCLA-bound backstop hit .493 on 39 hits with 7 HR and 28 RBI in 2019.

Kiannah Pierce, Sheldon

Alexis Bishop | San Marin-Novato | Sr. Bishop batted .530 and had 16 of her 35 hits go for extra bases in 2019. The Cal commit struck out just once in 24 games.

Jesse Juinio | Carondelet-Concord | Jr. She flashed all kinds of power with 11 home runs and 8 doubles during her sophomore campaign. She’s committed to Saint Mary’s.

Angelita Fuentes | Notre Dame-Salinas | Jr. Fuentes powered the Spirits to a 23-4 mark in 2019, batting .448 with 43 hits, 8 doubles, 9 HR and 40 RBI. Olivia DiNardo | Aragon-San Mateo | So. One of two sophomores that turned the Dons program into a powerhouse practically overnight. DiNardo hit .557 with 31 runs, 49 hits and 45 RBI.

infielders Jordan Woolery | Clayton Valley-Concord | So. Woolery was pledged to UCLA before her freshman season, and delivered on the hype by hitting .600 with 33 runs, 39 hits and 27 RBI. Megan Grant | Aragon-San Mateo | So. Another member of the 2022 UCLA recruiting class, Grant’s freshman season included 42 hits, 33 runs, 11 doubles, 13 HR and 51 RBI. Kiannah Pierce | Sheldon-Sacramento | Sr. The North Carolina-bound Pierce begins her fourth year for the renown Sheldon program. Last season she hit .562 on 54 hits with 34 runs, 17 RBI and 10 stolen bases.

Kaylee Pond | Acalanes-Lafayette | Sr. A polished two-sport athlete (basketball), Pond has a softball scholarship to Iowa State.

She batted .680 with 47 runs and 32 RBI as a junior.

Tianna Bell | Heritage-Brentwood | So. The Washington commit is set to take over the starring role for the Patriots after a freshman season that included 38 runs, 46 RBI and 24 extra-base hits.

Tianna Bell, Heritage

outfielders Diamond Holland | Mitty-San Jose | Sr. A force at the top of the Monarchs’ order, the speedy Cal-bound talent hit .493 with 35 runs, 36 hits and was a perfect 26-for-26 in stolen base attempts.

Valeria Torres-Colon | Amador Valley-Pleasanton | Sr. A first-team All-East Bay Athletic League selection, Torres-Colon will lead a dangerous Dons club in 2020.

Savannah Price | East Nicolaus | Sr. East Nicolaus finished inside the NorCal Top 10 last season thanks to this Arizona Statecommit who scored 50 runs with 18 doubles, 41 RBI and 23 stolen bases.

multi-purpose

Savannah Whatley | Mitty-San Jose | Sr. The Utah-bound Whatley was a 2019 West Catholic Athletic League co-MVP after batting .574 with 39 hits and 25 RBI for the CCS Open Div. champs.

Tehya Bird | Cloverdale | Sr. The Oregon commit dominated in all phases of the game as a junior. She hit .754 with 15 doubles and 13 HR while also posting a 23-1 record and an 0.88 ERA in the circle.

Tayler Biehl | Vista del Lago-Folsom | So. Biehl led the Sac-Joaquin Section with 60 hits — as a freshman. She hit .600 overall with 49 runs, 26 stolen bases and 27 RBI.

Jordyn Hutchins | Woodland Christian | Sr. The Stanford-bound star helped lead the Cardinals to an SJS Div. VI title with an 11-1 pitching record, a .580 batting average and 21 of her 29 hits going for extra bases. ✪

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CLEARVIS

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Kelly Sopak shares a moment with former Miramonte star Sabrina Ionescu, now a senior at Oregon and widely considered the best player in the nation.

K

elly Sopak had a question: “What are those progressive lenses like?”

Sopak, in his 11th year coaching at Miramonte High in Orinda, will turn 51 next month, and is considering his vision-improving options. Though age may not necessarily bring wisdom, it does bring changes – and sometimes for the better.

“I don’t take everything so seriously,” he said about the differences between his coaching style now and when he first started at Northgate-Walnut Creek in 2004. “I’m just as competitive, but I was more outwardly competitive.”

Claire Ely, who played for Sopak at Northgate and is now an assistant at Miramonte, agrees. “Games were much more important then than now,” she said. “At that time, he had something to prove — every win mattered.”

Today, however, he has 397 wins at the high school level, plus countless others coaching with his club team, Cal Stars. He recorded his 300th Miramonte win earlier this year, and should the Matadors win three more postseason games, he would reach the 400 career mark before his 51st birthday — all of which has shifted his perspective.

“He gets the big picture,” said Ely, who was an All-American at the University of Puget Sound. “He understands that it’s about more than basketball.”

His daughter, Leah, now a senior at Miramonte, can recall playing in the stands in his early coaching days. “He’d stomp his foot,” she said, “and do the yelling thing. But he’s lightened up — he does things in a different way. He gives you that look.

His competitive edge is still the same.”

That edge was honed at Bethel High School near Tacoma, Wash., where he was a three-sport star — though oddly none of them were basketball. He was a running back and kicker in football who got some Division III offers after a 186-yard game.

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"I don't take everything so seriously.

I'm just as competitive, but I was more outwardly competitive."

— Kelly Sopak

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In his one year of wrestling, he advanced to the regional finals at 178 pounds, a major achievement in wrestling-mad Washington.

His main sport, though, was baseball. After an all-state senior season, he played two years of junior college before getting a scholarship to the University of Nevada. But as a pitcher who threw in the low 90s, a shoulder injury pretty much ended his career after one season, though he went on to play at the semi-pro level.

After settling in the East Bay, Sopak started coaching with a fellow State Farm agent, Mark Bucklew, at Northgate — where Ely remembers him as the “calm one.” After four years as head coach or co-head coach, he moved to Miramonte and quickly righted the ship for a one-time powerhouse that had lost its way.

Carly Gill, who played for Sopak’s first teams there and is now also a member of his coaching staff, remembers it well. “It was a totally different level of intensity,” she said. “The expectation was that we would give 100 percent every time we stepped on the floor for practice and games.”

That expectation hasn’t changed, but other aspects of practice — where coaches spend by far the most time with their players – have shifted.

“He was very stubborn initially,” said Ely. “Each and every player needed to complete every drill to perfection.”

“He was harder on people’s mistakes,” said Gill — and both Gill and Ely are still surprised in practice when the losing players of a competitive drill don’t have to do the running they experienced, or the team gets days off during the season.

“I’ve learned there’s a lot of different ways to do things,” Sopak said. “I had to realize to take advice as advice, not as criticism. As a young coach, you get defensive when people tell you things. You think it’s a shot on you.”

One source of advice comes from Sopak’s staff, which is very large for a high school team. There are five assistants from whome he wants different ideas and input during games. “The game moves so fast you might miss things,” he said.

Sopak also goes much deeper into his bench than when he first started as well. “I hear from outside we play too many people,” he said, “but over time, you realize number four on your ladder isn’t necessarily a lot better than number nine. Number nine can give you serviceable minutes.

“And you also need to be versatile. You can’t have just one combination of players —you have to be able to counter.”

As an example, though his past teams were known for their pressing defenses, Sopak points to games against Pinewood-Los Altos Hills and Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland this year when he played man-to-man a majority of the game. It’s an adjustment he was less likely to make as a young coach.

Then there’s the most visible aspect of a coach on the sidelines — how he deals with officials.

“I couldn’t wrap my mind around bad calls when I was younger,” he said.

“But what I didn’t know then was that if you’re that guy who complains all the time — and I was that guy — your players complain all the time, too.”

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Leah Sopak, left

His experience with the Cal Stars, who play around the country and have won national titles, has given him perspective as well. “I know what bad officiating is like,” he said, “and in high school here, we get professional, hardworking officials. They’re human and they’ll make bad calls, but you try to treat them the way you want to be treated.”

He also is more conscious of how his coaching impacts his players, and he would like to do better. “I still struggle with the team-bonding aspect,” he said.

“I’m not the warm and fuzzy team-bonding coach.”

That said, his biggest focus now isn’t on the wins and losses during each season — that those are still very important – but more on how his players feel about the program.

“The four-year experience of each player is what matters most to me,” he said. “It’s great when players like Sabrina Ionescu come back to games, but it’s even better when role players do. That tells me their time playing basketball at Miramonte really meant something to them.”

Of course, no story about coaching today could be complete without the obligatory reference to “kids today” — but Sopak isn’t buying that part.

“I really believe kids have not changed,” he said. “What mattered to me as a teen-ager matters to my players today. What has changed is the parents — we as parents are much more involved than in the past. There’s a lot more outside noise now. But for me, it’s only become slightly more difficult to relate to parents than when I started.

“As long as the kids make it worthwhile to make it to practice every day, I want to keep coaching,” he said. “It’s a little easier now as well, because I see things a little more clearly.”

With or without the new glasses. ✪ — Story by Clay Kallam Follow Us On Twitter & Instagram, Like Us On Facebook!

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