Eye of the Tigers: Roseville is the Bee’s top-ranked softball team as season starts

In the Sacramento-area softball landscape, there is a lot of change going on below the surface while at the top, things seem familiar.

The Roseville Tigers appear ready to pounce this spring, just as they were a year ago before we all started scrambling for hand sanitizer and toilet paper as the pandemic settled in. Most teams were fortunate to get in a game or two.

This time, the joy in veteran coach Art Banks’ voice is a dead giveaway of how far things have come. In his 37th year of coaching, Banks knows his Tigers are loaded with seven college recruits and cannot wait to get on the dirt. Pitcher Malaya Johnson (headed to UC Santa Barbara) is tremendous in the circle, a team leader and wields a big bat. Roseville will be tough up the middle with catcher Lauren Mirtoni (Sonoma State), shortstop Shay McDowell (Oregon) and centerfielder Makayla Newsom (UCSB). Only Mirtoni graduates this year — the rest are juniors.

The other usual rankings suspects are ready to challenge for top rankings, too, a prize beyond just having a season as there will be no postseason tournaments, one of the after effects of squeezing a season into the spring. Those would be Elk Grove, Rocklin, Del Oro and Sheldon, all great programs with long track records and superbly coached.

Sophomore pitcher Aissa Silva is making a statement for No. 2 Elk Grove, having tossed a two-hitter with 17 strikeouts in one game as the Thundering Herd has plowed through Sierra Foothill League powers Del Oro (2-0), Granite Bay (5-0) and Rocklin (4-1) with a game scheduled against Roseville on Wednesday. Coach Amanda Buck has power in hitters like Brooklyn Pettis ready to rip.

No. 3 Rocklin has the Killer B’s in senior Brook Thompson (Boise State) and junior Breille Wright (Princeton), pitchers who form a strong righty/lefty combo. They will be throwing to junior UCLA commit catcher Jayla Castro. Coach Mallory Asaro has a thunderous hitting lineup led by Kyra Gooler (Chico State) and Claudia Kirchner (Saint Mary’s). Softball boosters have funded a major upgrade to playing surface on the Rocklin campus to add to the team’s profile and look.

Mary Jo Truesdale is the only head coach Sheldon has had in the 24 years the Elk Grove Unified School District program has been around. She has led the Huskies to national No. 1 rankings and won a trophy-case full of Sac-Joaquin Section Division I banners. With Arizona recruit Dakota Kennedy in center field and Cal commit shortstop/pitcher D’Auna Johnson mixing with speedy infielder Jazzy Fines, it appears the No. 4 Huskies are solid again.

No. 5 Vista del Lago is strong with Tayler Biehl (Arizona) leading the way. The junior is a stellar shortstop with speed and pop at the plate. Pitcher Lexi Holihan is also a good hitter. Del Oro is led by pitcher/infielder Jenna Birch (Oregon State) and Maddie Moore (Clemson). Tied for the top Bee rankings spot with Whitney in 2019, Golden Eagle coach Sean Erickson will play a tough schedule as always.

Whitney had a championship run in 2019, and at No. 7, the Wildcats figure to be competitive again under coach Mike Mello and senior Grace Stover. Other teams of note include Lincoln at No. 8 with pitcher Ava Domenici, No. 9 Center with ace Rylei Trujillo, a sophomore. No. 10 Oakmont is led by pitcher Kennedie Magorian. Ponderosa always shows up at the plate and has pitching. St. Francis has a twin “sister act” in its pitcher/catcher combo in Hope and Grace Jenkins. Sutter is strong with twins Avery and Ella Jolly. McClatchy’s pitcher Ashliegh Dendas is one of the best in the area, heading to CSU Northridge on scholarship.

East Nicolaus stormed high into The Bee’s rankings in 2019 in winning 19 games while toppling a number of area teams. The Spartans are led by shortstop Remmington Hewitt (ASU) Folsom, Pleasant Grove, Marysville, Antelope and Oak Ridge round out the top 20. Look for teams like Cosumnes Oaks, Granite Bay, Liberty Ranch and West Campus to knock on the door.

THE BEE’S PRESEASON TOP 20 SOFTBALL

(With 2019 record)

1. Roseville (17-9)

2. Elk Grove (21-10)

3. Rocklin (16-9)

4. Sheldon (19-7)

5. Vista del Lago (22-6)

6. Del Oro (21-10-2)

7. Whitney (26-6)

8. Lincoln (15-12-1)

9. Center (13-4)

10. Oakmont (14-8)

11. Ponderosa (13-8 )

12. St. Francis (17-11)

13. Sutter (23-5)

14. East Nicholas (30-2-2)

15. McClatchy (14-6)

16. Folsom (17-8)

17. Pleasant Grove (5-15)

18. Marysville (21-3-1)

19. Antelope (8-16)

20. Oak Ridge (9-13)

Bubble teams: (alphabetical order): Bella Vista (11-10-2), Cosumnes Oaks (17-6-1), Davis (9-15), Franklin (10-15-1), Granite Bay (4-12), Inderkum (11-12), Laguna Creek (14-13-1), Liberty Ranch (17-7) Lindhurst (11-13-1), River City (17-8-1), Casa Roble (15-11-1) , Vacaville (11-8), West Campus (16-7-1), Woodcreek (11-10), Yuba City (15-5-2).

25 players to watch

Laila Alves, C/1B, Lincoln, Sr.

Acacia Anders, SS, Vacaville, Sr.

Tayler Biehl, SS, Vista del Lago, Jr.

Jenna Birch, P/INF, Del Oro, Jr.

Jaylen Castro, C, Rocklin, Jr.

Janissa Conway, P, Marysville, So.

Ashley Dendas, P, McClatchy, Sr.

Jazzy Fines, 2b, Sheldon, Sr.

Ashley Goard, P, Pleasant Grove, Sr.

Sakora Harvell, IF, Cosumnes Oaks, So.

Remington Hewitt, IF, East Nicholas, Jr.

Hope Jenkins, P, St. Francis, Jr.

Grace Jenkins, C, St. Francis, Jr.

Malaya Johnson, P, Roseville, Jr.

Dakota Kennedy, CF, Sheldon, Jr.

Grace Kilday, C, Oak Ridge, Sr.

Shay McDowell, SS, Roseville, Jr.

Maddie Moore, IF, Del Oro, Sr.

Lauren Mirtoni, C, Roseville, Sr.

Makayla Newsom, OF, Roseville, Jr.

Brooklyn Pettis, IF, Elk Grove, Sr.

Aissa Silva, P, Elk Grove, So.

Brook Thompson, P, Rocklin, Sr.

Rylei Trujillo, P/IF, Center, So.

Reina Zermino, C, Sheldon, Jr.

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