Prep softball rankings, notes: Rocklin makeover; COVID-19 scheduling

Just before the softball season started, work was underway to improve the infield and install a warning track all the way around the varsity field at Rocklin High School.

The lip where the outfield grass met the infield dirt was so bad that some infieders chasing pop-ups were tripping and hitting the ground before the ball did. The lip was removed, the infield was laser-leveled and realigned. It was also discovered that home plate was about a foot out of alignment with second base.

While Thunder coach Mallory Asaro watched the field being made perfect — a project paid for by booster club fundraising efforts — she thought about what a perfect season this could be for her talented team.

“We couldn’t ask for a better setting or a better team,” said Asaro, who played at Rocklin. “This may be the best Rocklin team ever, and now we have a perfect field to play on.”

Best team ever? That’s a statement, considering Rocklin was 24-3 during a Sac-Joaquin Section championship season in 2016. In 2013, Asaro’s senior year, she hit .375 on a Thunder team that was 26-5, Sierra Foothill League champions and section finalists.

Through five games this season against the best opponents the Sacramento area has to offer, the Thunder are a laser-perfect 5-0 and remain No. 1 in The Bee’s Top 20 rankings. That’s not just lip service. Three of those wins came on roadtrips to the mighty gauntlet to the south: No. 2 Sheldon, No. 3 Elk Grove and No. 10 Pleasant Grove, perennial powers all.

“Its the first time in school history we’ve beaten all three in one year, and to do it on the road shows how special this team is,” Asaro said. “Pitching, hitting, speed, defense ... we have all that, and other teams do too. But the chemistry with these girls is special, and it elevates everyone’s game.”

Veteran Sheldon coach Mary Jo Truesdale has high praise for Rocklin after being on the wrong side of an 8-1 score last week.

“What impressed me was their composure, high energy and positivity,” Truesdale said. “Mallory is a great young coach and she’s doing a great job.”

Pitcher Brook Thompson and catcher Jayla Castro are a good example of that chemistry. They seem to read each other’s body language during the game, and Castro calls the pitches, rare for high school or even college catchers. The result is clear: through 26 innings, the combo has yet to give up an earned run. Thompson has struck out 38 batters and walked only two.

Castro is a special talent behind the dish who can also dish out punishment with her bat. The UCLA-bound senior is hitting .556 with two home runs and nine runs batted in. Her two-run blast against Pleasant Grove helped the Thunder overcome an early deficit en route to a 7-3 win.

Maybe the biggest surprise for Asaro is the play of freshman shortstop Sydney Barker, whose solo home run on the first pitch of the season against Elk Grove provided the only score of the game. Thompson, headed to Boise State next year, no-hit the talented Herd lineup with 16 strikeouts, spoiling a four-hitter by Elk Grove sophomore ace Aissa Silva.

Senior hitters Claudia Kirchner, Kyra Gooler and Eliza Deatherage help power the Thunder, along with junior Breille Wright, who backs up Thompson in the circle. Rocklin faces big tests this week against No. 4 Roseville, No. 14 Folsom, No. 19 Granite Bay and next week No. 5 Del Oro. But now that the playing field is level, it might be difficult to trip up the Thunder the rest of the way.

COVID Scheduling

Notice how all the top schools are scheduling each other this year?

It’s a product of COVID-19 uncertainties, but it has made for one of the most exciting preseasons ever in Sacramento softball. Rocklin, Elk Grove, Sheldon, Roseville, Del Oro, and Pleasant Grove are all scheduling each other early because there are no tournaments or playoffs this season because of the pandemic.

Vista del Lago, Oakmont, Lincoln are scheduling bigger too. Some schools were allowed to start in early March, others are just starting up, making it difficult to fit in non league games. The Delta League, with Sheldon, Elk Grove, Pleasant Grove, St. Francis and Cosumnes Oaks, appears to once again be the toughest league this year.

Coming Out Party

Pitchers Emma Fallon of Folsom and Ashliegh Denza of McClatchy have been waiting on the sidelines for their seasons to start. Both appear to be as sharp as expected. In three starts Fallon has a 0.96 ERA and spun a 12-strikeout gem to beat Elk Grove 8-2 Friday. Dendas two-hit Pleasant Grove Friday as the Lions won their first game 1-0. With McClatchy’s football and baseball teams sidelined due to COVID-19, the 13th-ranked Lions softball team is giving the school’s athletics program a shot in the arm.

The “sister act” Jenkins twins of St. Francis are as good as advertised. The juniors are hitting a combined .471 with 20 hits and 20 RBIs. For good measure, each has two home runs for the 12th-ranked, 3-1 Troubadours. In the circle, Hope Jenkins has struck out 32 batters in 22 innings, throwing to her sister Grace. The twins will be playing for UConn after next season.

Ella Jolly is lighting it up at No. 11 Sutter. She’s got 14 RBIs to go along with her three home runs and .571 batting average.

THE BEE’S TOP 20

1. Rocklin (5-0)

2. Sheldon (6-2)

3. Elk Grove (8-2)

4. Roseville (1-2)

5. Del Oro (2-2)

6. Vista del Lago (2-0)

7. Oakmont (2-1)

8. Lincoln (3-4)

9. Center (1-0)

10. Pleasant Grove (3-2)

11. Sutter (4-0)

12. St. Francis (3-1)

13. McClatchy (1-0)

14. Folsom (2-1)

15. Ponderosa (1-1)

16. East Nicholas (0-0)

17. Marysville (2-0)

18. Antelope (1-0)

19. Granite Bay (3-2)

20. Cosumnes Oaks (3-0)

Bubble: Bella Vista (3-2), Casa Roble (0-0), Christian Brothers (0-0), Colfax (3-1), Cordova (2-1), Franklin (2-3), Inderkum (2-1), Pioneer (0-0), Laguna Creek (0-2), Liberty Ranch (3-1), River City (0-0), Rosemont (3-2), Vacaville (2-4), Yuba City (1-0), Wheatland (0-1). - Pete Dufour