Prep softball rankings: Elk Grove unbeaten; Del Oro faces showdown; Sutter’s streak
Sutter High School’s 49-game winning streak came to an end last week, but it took the No. 1 team in the Sacramento area to bring it to a close. The Huskies’ field, where a foul ball over the backstop can easily reach the mandarin orchard, was the site of a 7-2 Elk Grove win last week that was closer than the score indicated.
Sutter (7-1) gave up five unearned runs in the top of the second and was no match for Elk Grove’s Aissa Silva, who compiled 17 strikeouts for the third time this season and added a two-run triple at the plate. Elk Grove atoned for a 5-2 home loss to the Huskies last season.
Silva, whose command of the rise ball and location made her one of the top pitchers in the Sac-Joaquin Section last season as a sophomore, has added another deadly component to her pitching repertoire this season: a tougher mental approach. That may be why she has yet to yield a run in 2022.
“It’s really about confidence with me and learning to relax out there,” said Silva, who has yet to choose which college she will attend after next season. “I’m learning to grow with this game I love.”
“She’s just one of the best in California, if not in the nation,” said proud Elk Grove coach Amanda Buck of her ace. “She’s a competitor who has had maybe one bad outing in the three years I’ve had her.”
Sutter senior pitcher Riley Wickum gave up a few walks early but settled in to an 11-strikeout, six-hit performance against the Herd. Buck says Wickum, who is headed to Cal State Northridge, is key to Sutter’s great run.
“I can see how they have been so good over the years,” Buck said. “She spins it really well and has a good rise ball. They’re a good team.”
Sutter coach Stefanie Danna welcomed the opportunity for her team to grow from playing premiere competition, something that is hard to come by in the North Section.
“We had that bad inning and that sealed the deal,” Danna said. “Aissa is a great pitcher, Elk Grove has a great team and we will just have to grow from this experience to get better for the back half of our season.”
If the Huskies continue to grow as well as the mandarins and almonds in the orchards that surround them, they will have a good shot at another North Section Division IV title this year.
Week 3 Top 20
Four Sierra Foothill League teams and three Delta League teams take seven of the top 10 spots.
Elk Grove is now 8-0, with two wins last week. As the younger players in the lineup begin to put the ball in play, Aissa Silva should have even more confidence to help the Herd navigate the swift current of the Delta League. Addy Buckley, Brooke Thompson and Taylor Fitzgerald are all batting over .400.
The Best Week Ever Award goes to Del Oro. The Eagles won six games in seven days, beat No. 3 St. Francis and topped Whitney and Oak Ridge to start the SFL season at 2-0.
Caroline Grimes stepped up big for the Eagles against St. Francis. She pitched a four-hit shutout, with nine strikeouts and no walks. For good measure, Grimes and Kendal Manley each stroked solo home runs against Troubador ace Grace Jenkins. Grimes era for the year is 0.61 and is hitting .321 at the plate. Manley is hitting .419 with three dingers.
St. Francis (5-1) bounced back from the Del Oro loss to beat Inderkum. The Troubadors’ last big test before Delta League action is against Folsom next week, where Jenkins will face another strikeout ace in Emma Fallon.
Sheldon’s lineup is loaded with hitters. Catcher Reina Zermeno and Coco Harvell are hitting over .400, and there is a lot of pop in the starting nine. In an interesting matchup this week against one of the few teams to beat Sheldon last year, Vanden comes to call Thursday. Hazyl Gray is back in the circle and back at the plate for the Vikings. In only two games so far, the lefty bound for Santa Clara University is hitting .625 with two home runs against Vacaville and Fairfield. This lineup has other Division-I commits too.
After beating Ponderosa 11-0 last week, Roseville is primed for a run through the Capital Valley Conference. Pitcher Makayla Newsome struck out eight batters and sophomore Karissa Avila hit a home run in the win. The Tigers open CVC play against two teams on the rebuild from last year, Antelope and Woodcreek.
Vista del Lago is undefeated in six games but has its best test this week with a road game at Elk Grove on Friday.
Quick hits
▪ It’s been a small sample of games for Folsom this year but wins over Rocklin and Whitney have the Bulldogs tied with Del Oro atop the SFL standings early on. Pitcher Emma Fallon is averaging two strikeouts per inning with a microscopic 0.36 ERA. Four Folsom hitters are averaging over .400, including Hailey Scott who has popped two home runs.
▪ Coach Brian Seva’s Granite Bay Grizzlies are making some noise. Starting off the season with two big SFL wins against Oak Ridge and Rocklin will get you noticed, along with a 7-0 record. Seva’s junior daughter Avery has a 1.48 ERA.
▪ Against the toughest competition, Rocklin sandwiched a 5-0 win over Roseville between four two-run losses. Now the Thunder travel to 10-1 Del Oro on Wednesday. They will need to get into the win column quickly to have a shot at an SFL title, but they have the pitching, hitting and team chemistry to do it.
▪ Tiny East Nicolaus handed American Canyon its first loss of the season and has the pitching, hitting and defense to go undefeated this season. A good test will be a visit from 10-0 Wheatland with Zereniti Souza, hitting .552, this week. EN is the favorite to win another North Section Division V title. An April 14 game is circled on the Trojans’ schedule as their biggest challenge: the annual battle with rival Sutter, which took a 7-0 shutout win last season.
▪ Woodcreek has improved to 8-2 and will test its progress against Roseville on Wednesday when the Tigers come to Mahaney Park to open CVC play. In the FVL, it’s still Oakmont, Lincoln and Ponderosa as frontrunners. Lincoln has been hit with injuries but will bounce back.
As conference games get underway, rankings tend to sort themselves out. Missing anything? Hit me up at petebeesports@gmail.com, or follow on Twitter, @Pete24Dufour.
Sacramento-area top 20 softball teams
1. Elk Grove (8-0)
2. Del Oro (10-1)
3. St. Francis (5-1)
4. Sheldon (3-2)
5. Roseville (5-2)
6. Vanden (2-0)
7. Vista del Lago (5-0-1)
8. Folsom (3-0-1)
9. Rocklin (4-6)
10. Granite Bay (7-0)
11. Sutter (7-1)
12. East Nicolaus (5-0)
13. Woodcreek (8-2)
14. Pleasant Grove (3-3)
15. Whitney (1-4)
16. Wheatland (10-0)
17. Oakmont (4-2)
18. Inderkum (9-3)
19. Bella Vista (8-2-1)
20. Lincoln (2-4)
Bubble teams: Antelope (5-5) Casa Roble (8-3), Dixon (5-1), Marysville (5-3), McClatchy (3-1), Monterey Trail (5-2), Oak Ridge (7-2), Pioneer (6-3-1), Ponderosa (5-3-1),
This story was originally published March 22, 2022 at 7:30 AM.