Softball rankings: Watch out for Del Oro, the new No. 3; Elk Grove looks to keep rolling

Del Oro head softball coach Sean Erickson might have finally met his match in the enthusiasm department. His pitcher/second baseman Jenna Birch may have taken the talking stick from her sometimes hyper-positive coach.

“She leads us with her vocal cords as well as with her play,” said Erickson. “She has no fear, plays at a very high level and is an inspiration to her teammates.”

Birch, a junior headed for Oregon State, battles every at-bat, every ground ball and every pitch. She’s an all-around athlete hitting .419 at the top of the order for the Eagles. And that batting order has come alive since the first two games of the season, powering No. 3 Del Oro to 10 straight wins and a 6-0 record in the tough Sierra Foothill League. Birch leads the team with five home runs and 15 RBIs.

“I don’t know what happened to our bats the first two games, but the girls worked hard in the cages, much of it on their own, and turned it around,” said Erickson. “We know we can hit!”

Clemson-bound third baseman Maddie Moore has four home runs and sports a .486 average. Her two home runs against Rocklin were the difference in a 4-2 victory over the 11-1 Thunder. One of her bombs cleared the batting cages and disappeared into the trees well beyond the centerfield fence. She also had a web gem in that game as did centerfielder Annabelle Burke, who sprinted full speed to make a diving catch, then got to her feet and threw a bullet to first base to complete a double play, one of three the Eagles turned that day.

“Annabelle is as aggressive in chasing down balls as she is a cheerleader for her teammates,” said Erickson, now in his 11th year as the Eagles’ head coach. “The chemistry on this team is incredible. These are all kids from my neighborhood and they are all pulling for one another. We are ready for a big push.”

Pitcher Caroline Grimes compliments Birch and the two feed off each other. Grimes, hitting .484, recently went 5-for-5 at the plate with a home run and pitched the Eagles to a win over Center. Moore is a story of overcoming hardships as she has battled back from knee surgery that sidelined her for a year.

The Eagles may be the hottest team in the Sacramento area. They are on a roll and have a chance to make a statement in their rematch with No. 1 Rocklin on Friday, another team with great pitching, hitting and defense, out to prove it is still the best, all talking aside.

Who’s the top shutdown pitcher in the area?

Center’s Rylei Trujillo averages 1.83 strikeouts per inning, or 75 Ks in 41 innings. Sutter’s Riley Wickum is at 1.76. Folsom’s Emma Fallon has a 1.71 average. Aissa Silva leads the area with 162 strikeouts in 95 innings, for a 1.71 average. Hazyl Gray of Vanden is next with a 1.618 average (82 Ks, 50.2 innings). Hope Jenkins of St. Francis follows at 1.611 (87 Ks in 54 innings). Rocklin’s Brook Thompson has 85 in 59 innings for a 1.44 ratio.

Other pitchers, like Jaylee Ojo and Bre Romero of Sheldon, Jenna Birch and Caroline Grimes of Del Oro, can get you out in other ways.

In a much smaller sample, CSU Northridge commit Ashleigh Dendas of McClatchy has struck out 44 batters in only 20 innings, for a strikeout-per-inning ratio of 2.20. That includes 16 strikeouts against Inderkum and 14 against Pleasant Grove. She also owns an ERA of 0.35, just ahead of Silva’s 0.44 and Thompson’s 0.47. With games coming up against Sheldon and Elk Grove, we’ll get a chance to see Dendas match up against the best.

So just who is the best shutdown pitcher? When you take all this information and apply those numbers against the toughest competition, it may be a tie between Silva and Boise State-bound Thompson. Two power pitchers with great accuracy, late movement and off-speed stuff. When the two teams met a month ago, Thompson no-hit the Herd. Silva gave up just four hits, but the first pitch of the game left the yard off the bat of Rocklin freshman Sydney Barker, and that was the only run of the game. Silva, Trujillo and Ojo will be entertaining Division I offers this fall when they start their junior year.

Rocklin stays on top in this week’s rankings, winning two close SFL games. The Thunder needed a two-run homer from Alexa Garcia in the seventh and a run in the ninth to beat Whitney. They also squeezed by Folsom 2-1 despite Emma Fallon fanning 11 Thunder batters. The rematch with the only team to beat them this year happens at Del Oro Friday.

Sheldon has six players hitting .450 or better. Super soph pitcher Jaylee Ojo not only leads the Huskies in the circle, she leads all area hitters with eight home runs. Junior catcher Reina Zermeno is tied for third with six. Without the six forfeit losses, Sheldon would be 12-2.

Who’s second in home runs? Laila Alves has seven round-trippers to compliment her .611 batting average.

Elk Grove (15-3) just keeps winning, beating Roseville and Pleasant Grove on road, and Cosumnes Oaks at home. The St. Francis game this week is big. The 10-2 Troubadours lost a close one at Sheldon after tying the game in the top of the seventh last week.

Look at Vista del Lago! Roseville, Folsom and Oakmont have fallen in succession to the Eagles. After giving up six runs in the third against Oakmont, VDL came back with six of their own in the top of the fourth, eventually winning 12-8. Lexi Holihan was 4-for-5 with a home run and five RBIs, Tayler Biehl homered and added two more hits, and Olivia Manchester was 3-for-4. However, it was secret weapon freshman pitcher Charlize Cai who was the difference, striking out 12 Vikings in her first varsity outing.

Top 20

1. Rocklin (11-1)

2. Sheldon (6-8)

3. Del Oro (11-1)

4. Elk Grove (15-3)

5. Roseville (8-4)

6. Vanden (11-0)

7. St Francis (10-2)

8. Vista Del Lago (6-2)

9. Oakmont (9-3)

10. Lincoln (9-4)

11. Folsom (5-5)

12. Pleasant Grove (6-7)

13. Ponderosa (7-3)

14. Sutter (8-0)

15. McClatchy (5-1)

16. Center (4-4)

17. East Nicholas (5-0)

18. Marysville (7-1)

19. Inderkum (9-2)

20. Cosumnes Oaks (6-4)

On the bubble: Colfax (4-4), Cordova (6-2), Del Campo (5-6), Granite Bay (8-6), Laguna Creek (4-5), Liberty Ranch (9-2), Rodriguez (8-3), Rosemont (10-3), Vacaville (5-7), Yuba City (5-4)