Here’s a look at the final rankings in Bay Area softball for the 2014 season.
Last week’s rankings are in parentheses.
1 (1) Amador Valley 27-0
The Dons completed a perfect season with a 2-1 win over Granada in the NCS Division I final. Johanna Grauer had two base hits, and also pitched a gem, allowing five hits and striking out 11. Ashley Lotosynski also had two hits, including a triple and a walk.
Notes from the Dons championship season:
• Grauer was 27-0 with a 0.51 earned run average and struck out 290 hitters and opponents hit just .097 against her. She never allowed more than three runs in any of her 27 starts and tossed 14 shutouts. Her 27 wins were third best in the state and she was sixth in California in strikeouts.
• Offensively, Grauer was 8-for-11 with six runs batted in during the playoffs and was 22-for-40 over her last 11 games.
• In the playoffs, Lotosynski was 6-for-7 with a homer and five runs batted in. Lotosynski’s 31 runs batted in are tied for 15th best in the NCS.
• Victoria Molina ended the season with a eight-game hit streak, going 14-for-27 with 10 runs batted in during that time.
• The dominant senior class ended its careers with a 98-8 varsity record, with five of those losses coming during its freshman year.
• The championship game was the first time since April 8 that the Dons did not score three runs in a game.
• Amador Valley not only finished as NCS champions but also won the competitive Queen of the Mountain and Michelle Carew tournaments.
• The Dons ended the year 7-0 in one-run games.
2 (2) Archbishop Mitty 30-1
The Monarchs took out Pioneer, 7-4, in the CCS Division II championship game for their third title in four years and eighth in 10 years. Junior Madeleine Kim had three hits and was a home run away from the cycle.
Notes from the Monarchs championship season:
• Twenty-seven of Jazmyn Jackson’s 46 hits this season went for extra bases and her 1.105 slugging percentage was fifth best in the CCS.
• Junior Danielle Bowers finished fifth in the CCS with 39 runs batted in.
• The Monarchs return five of their seven leading hitters and both ace pitchers next season.
• Junior Desiree Severance finished second in the CCS with a 0.63 earned run average and fellow junior Stephanie Kristo was sixth with a 1.06 mark.
• The program is 222-15-1 over the last eight years and the seniors finished 113-7.
• Mitty outscored its three playoff opponents, 21-5.
• The Monarchs were 3-0 in one-run games.
• Against top 10 Bay Area teams, the Monarchs were 4-0 and outscored those teams, 37-5.
• The Monarchs scored four runs or more in 26 of 31 games.
3 (3) Alhambra 25-2
The Bulldogs ended the season with a 14-game win streak, including a 5-0 triumph over Carondelet in the NCS Division II championship game. Erin Enke pitched a four-hitter for the team’s 10th shutout of the year which includes a 10-0 win over Livermore in the semifinals.
Notes from the Bulldogs championship season:
• It was the Bulldogs’ second NCS title in four years after winning Division III in 2011.
• Alhambra outscored its four playoff opponents, 45-3.
• The Bulldogs averaged 11.1 runs per game.
• Freshman Karlee Sparacino finished the season with a .608 batting average, fifth best in the NCS, and was 6-for-13 in the playoffs. Her 42 runs batted in were also fifth best in the NCS.
• Sophomore Cara Dimercurio had a 12-game hitting streak snapped in the semifinals but was 6-for-11 in the playoffs, including four runs batted in versus Carondelet.
• Stud shortstop Kylee Perez finished the season with a 14-game hit streak.
• Junior Courtney Kelly’s seven home runs were tied for sixth best in the NCS.
• Enke finished with the sixth-best earned run average in NCS.
4 (4) Pioneer 24-5
The Mustangs fell in the CCS Division II championship game to Mitty, 7-4, but had won eight games in a row and six by shutout.
Pioneer returns all of its top players next season, including freshman ace Holly Azevedo.
5 (6) Carlmont 27-3
Senior Rebecca Faulkner struck out seven and allowed just three hits as the Scots took home the CCS Division I title and ended San Benito’s long reign with a 8-1 victory. Offensively, Faulkner and Melissa Pekareck each had two hits and two runs batted in.
Notes from the Scots championship season:
• Carlmont ended the year on a 14-game win streak.
• It was Carlmont’s first championship in 10 years.
• Faulkner finished sixth in the CCS in runs batted in (38), ninth in earned run average (1.18), tied for fifth in wins (18), and eighth in strikeouts (152). She also finished the season on a 19-game hitting streak.
• Gabriela Pons hit four home runs in the playoffs, including two in a 4-3 win over Wilcox in the semifinals.
• The win against Wilcox was just the second one-run game of the season for the Scots.
6 (12) Granada 19-9
The Mats have nothing to be ashamed of after falling to one of the nation’s top-ranked teams, Amador Valley, in the NCS Division I championship.
Junior Taylor Zehr hit her 10th home run of the season in the 2-1 loss to the Dons and it happened immediately after Zehr took a scary fall in the Matador dugout. Zehr’s home run total was third best in the NCS.
Zehr also had three hits against Logan in the semifinals and sophomore Jessica Johnston pitched well throughout the postseason.
7 (8) San Benito 23-4-1
The Haybalers’ eight-year championship run ended with an 8-1 loss to Carlmont in the CCS Division I title game.
In the semifinals, Adriana Ibarra and Callee Heen each homered in the eighth inning in a 4-3 triumph over Leland.
8 (5) Leland 22-5
The Chargers’ season ended in heartbreak fashion with a 4-3, eight-inning defeat to San Benito in the CCS Division I semifinals.
It meant the end of a terrific high school career for top hitter and pitcher Holly Geranen, who finished tied for first in the CCS with 21 wins.
9 (9) Notre Dame-Salinas 26-3
The Spirits won the CCS Division III championship for a third straight year with a 8-2 win over Santa Catalina. Aireal Sakasagawa and Sarah Muzik combined for seven of the team’s 14 hits.
Notes from the Spirits championship season:
• Muzik reached base in all 12 postseason plate appearances, including hits in all 10 at bats and five extra base hits.
• The Spirits scored 27 runs in three playoff games and averaged 8.5 runs per game on the year. Notre Dame also averaged 9.1 runs over its last 11.
• It was the school’s 14th CCS championship.
• The Spirits have outscored the opposition, 80-16, in the last two postseasons.
• The Spirits played just two one-run games this season (1-1).
10 (7) James Logan 23-3
The Colts fell to Granada, 11-1, in five innings in a NCS Division I semifinal loss, ending their two-year championship run. James Logan had won 18 in a row.
Another banner season awaits next season, however, as many top players return, including juniors Deanne Garza and Allison Pelland.
11 (10) Valley Christian-San Jose 22-8
The Warriors season closed with an 8-0 loss to Mitty in the CCS Division II semifinals.
Junior Brynne Fitzpatrick led all California pitchers with 381 strikeouts this season, 47 more than the next highest total (Natalie Calderas, Jurupa Hills – 334). She was also first in the CCS with a 0.60 earned run average.
12 (11) Foothill 16-11
The Falcons fell to rival Amador Valley, 7-1, in the NCS Division I semifinals.
Seven of Foothill’s losses were to teams who played in section championship games.
13 (15) Salesian 18-1
The Pride repeated as NCS Division IV champions with a 2-0 win over St. Patrick-St. Vincent as Zoe Conley pitched a four-hitter, struck out nine and Madison Pozzi delivered three hits.
Notes from the Pride’s championship season:
• Conley struck out 37 in her three playoff wins.
• Behind Conley, Salesian allowed just one run in three playoff games and one run over its final seven games.
• The Pride outscored its three playoff opponents, 12-1, after winning its three NCS games last season by an aggregate score of 13-1.
• The Pride posted 11 shutouts this season.
• There were just four games this season when the opposition scored more than two runs.
• Salesian was 3-1 against SPSV this season.
14 (13) San Ramon Valley 17-9
The Wolves fell in the NCS quarterfinals but return all but three players next season.
15 (14) Carondelet 15-13
The Cougars came up short in their bid for the school’s first softball championship with a NCS Division II title game 5-0 loss to Alhambra.
In the 5-0 semifinal win over Arroyo, senior Hannah Hartung hit her first home run of the season and Taylor Blair pitched a one-hitter.
Blair, a junior, finished with the ninth-most strikeouts in NCS.
16 (16) St. Patrick-St. Vincent 24-6
The Bruins toppled Marin Catholic, 13-3, in six innings in the semifinals before a NCS Division IV 2-0 championship loss to Salesian. Half of the Bruins losses this year were to the Pride.
Seniors Zaria Meshack and Nicci Barker combined for seven hits and four runs batted in against the Wildcats.
17 (19) Wilcox 22-8
The Chargers nearly rallied against Carlmont in the CCS Division I semifinals but fell 4-3 after scoring twice in the seventh.
Wilcox was very junior-laden this season and returns its top five hitters and pitcher Amanda Ramirez in 2015.
18 (17) Monte Vista 11-12
The Mustangs beat San Ramon Valley, Carondelet, Livermore, and Foothill over their final seven games.
19 (18) Livermore 13-14
The season ended with a thud, a 10-0 loss to Alhambra in the NCS Division II semifinals.
Livermore graduates four seniors, including Taylor Munoz but returns ace pitcher Samantha Whalen next season.
20 (20) Hillsdale 21-8
The Knights were blanked, 5-0, against Pioneer in the CCS Division II semifinals.
Hillsdale will be loaded next season and this includes sophomore pitcher Eryn McCoy.
21 (21) Heritage 19-5
The Patriots return all three freshman pitchers next season, including Marissa Espinoza, and top hitter Kim Trice.
22 (22) Los Altos 20-8
The Eagles lose a couple of top hitters, including Marialena Ahern, but return sophomore ace Lizzy Beutter next season.
23 (23) Soquel 22-9
The Knights fell to champion Notre Dame-Salinas in the CCS Division III semifinals, 9-7.
The high-octane offense returns many top hitters next season, including Jamie Sugimoto, who finished with 12 home runs which was best in the entire CCS.
24 (25) Santa Catalina 19-5-1
After a dominant 10-0, five-inning win over Half Moon Bay, the Spirits fell to Notre Dame-Salinas, 8-2, in the CCS Division III championship game.
In the semifinals, the Cougars showed off some of the great pieces that will return as juniors next season. Sophomores Lauren Garcia pitched a one-hitter, Marissa Bruno delivered three hits, and Tatumn Satow had four runs batted in.
25 (NR) Tamalpais 19-9
The Red Tailed Hawks downed a Terra Linda team that beat them over two weeks earlier, 3-2, in the NCS Division III championship thanks to an error in the bottom of the seventh. Sophomore Elodie Townsend had two hits and fellow sophomore Jessie Scarsella pitched a seven-hitter.
Notes from the Red Tailed Hawks championship season:
• Senior Aria Pogni was 6-for-8 with seven runs batted in during the playoffs and her 16 home runs were far and away the best in the entire NCS and tied for second in the state. Pogni also led the NCS with a .684 average, .784 on-base percentage, 1.481 slugging percentage, and 57 runs scored. She also had a hit in all but two games this year.
• In the playoffs, senior Becca Fong was 7-for-14 with two home runs and 10 runs batted in.
• Scarsella pitched every inning for the team this season.
• Tam was 1-4 in one-run games before the NCS title game.
• Tam was 1-2 versus Terra Linda before the title game.
Dropped Out: #24 Half Moon Bay 22-8
Bubble: Arroyo 19-8, Castro Valley 18-10, Dougherty Valley 12-10, Half Moon Bay, Maria Carrillo, Mt. Pleasant 14-12, Newark Memorial 19-7, Notre Dame-Belmont, Petaluma 21-7, Presentation, Rancho Cotate 18-7-1, Redwood Christian 20-2, Santa Rosa 16-6, Westmont 16-12
