Prep softball rankings: League titles and section playoff berth are on the line

Just two weeks remain in the regular season and teams are jockeying for league titles and one of the 83 positions for the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs.

Sierra Foothill League

The SFL got a little more interesting this past week. Sarah O’Dea’s second home run of the year for Whitney was memorable; she drilled a walkoff blast against Del Oro in the bottom of the eighth inning. Whitney has been up and down this year but was sky-high after that game. Del Oro’s Jenna Birch was 3-for-5, driving in two runs and scoring two more but the No. 1 Eagles suffered their second SFL loss and just their third setback of the year.

It’s a big week for coach Sean Erickson’s squad as arch rival Rocklin takes a trip up Taylor Road to Loomis on Wednesday. Folsom, the other SFL loss on the Eagles’ schedule, can climb into a first-place tie with a win at Del Oro on Friday.

Losing 10-7 in nine innings to Rocklin was a heartbreaker for the Grizzlies, but they must move on quickly because Lincoln, Folsom and Whitney are on the schedule this week. Alex Garcia hit two home runs for Rocklin in the win at Granite Bay.

Five SFL teams will make the playoffs. If Folsom should prevail at Del Oro on Friday and win the SFL, Rocklin and Del Oro could find themselves in the Division II bracket with Granite Bay. That would mean Whitney and Folsom would play in Division I. Del Oro could be both the top seed and smallest public school in either division. The SFL champ automatically goes to Division I.

Delta League

Five of the seven Delta League teams will make the playoffs. No. 2 Sheldon is 8-0 in league play and has No. 4 Elk Grove and No. 3 St. Francis on the schedule this week. In the first go-round with Elk Grove, pitcher Bree Romero was clutch in a 1-0 win home win for the Huskies. Dakota Kennedy had two home runs in a 7-3 Sheldon win against St. Francis. The Arizona-bound centerfielder has 12 hits in her last 20 at-bats with three homers.

What more can junior Aissa Silva be asked to do for the Thundering Herd? She’s hitting .351 with a home run, and in the circle is the top strikeout ace of the greater Sacramento area. So how about adding a no-hitter to her list of accomplishments? It happened against Dublin of the East Bay Conference in the recent Tracy tournament. Silva is second in the section in strikeouts-per-inning pitched, and leads the Sacramento area with 233 strikeouts.

St. Francis and ace Hope Jenkins are just one game behind Sheldon at 7-1 in Delta League play. Jenkins is hitting .544 with six home runs, and twin sister Grace is at .509 with four round-trippers. The two have combined for 60 hits and 46 RBIs. UConn is the lucky university to get this pitcher/catcher package next year.

Freshman Savanna Newman leads Pleasant Grove in hitting with a .528 average and Emily Bigley provides senior leadership on the Eagles squad and is batting .424.

Franklin will also go Division I in the playoffs. Kealani Nitta is hitting .569 with a 19-game hitting streak and three home runs for the Wildcats. Tracy and Lincoln of Stockton are the two top out-of-area teams in the Division I playoffs. Del Oro and Sheldon are likely to be the top two seeds in this division.

St. Francis, Roseville, Elk Grove and Rocklin would be the top seeds in Division II, where St. Mary’s of Stockton would be the best of the bunch from the southern part of the section.

Foothill Valley League

At 8-0 in FVL, Ponderosa has established itself as the team to beat. It has wins over both co-champs from last season, Lincoln and Oakmont. Senior catcher Samantha Ream has four homers and is hitting .432. Whitney Montoya had two hits in the crucial 3-1 win over Oakmont and carries a .432 average.

Ponderosa has a two-game lead over Oakmont and Lincoln with four to go and travels to Lincoln on Thursday. Ava Tingey, back from an early season injury, is hitting .581 for the Zebras. Lincoln has won four in a row. In their head-to-head match up three weeks ago, Ponderosa scrapped together a 2-1 win with both runs unearned. Thursday, the Bruins come to Lincoln for the rematch.

Oakmont still has a shot at the FVL title but will need some help. There’s senior leadership and talented underclassmen support. Freshmen Chloe Gomes and Marley Hogue, and sophomore Ashlyn Leighton are all hitting over .430 to lead the team.

The top three from the FVL will end up in Division III in the playoffs where Vanden and Oakdale loom large.

Capital Athletic League

The Vista del Lago Eagles are flying off with the CAL title and will be one of the top seeds in Division III. Coach Julie Lazar has scheduled two of the best teams in the entire section, St. Francis and Sheldon, for non-league showdowns to close out the regular season. There is no question the Eagles are very good, but their league competition has not been near to the level they will see in postseason play. The Troubadours and the Huskies will certainly be good measuring sticks for the Eagles.

Capital Christian and Del Campo will also make the Division III bracket from the CAL.

Capital Valley Conference

It was a good week for Roseville! The Tigers made it clear they are not going to give up the top spot in the CVC, posting statement wins over Woodcreek, Antelope and River Valley by a combined score of 26-1. The only blemish on Roseville’s 8-1 conference record is a 3-1 loss at Yuba City. The Tigers host the Honkers this week. Yuba and River Valley will make the Division III playoffs with Roseville, but Woodcreek is on the bubble.

It’s worth noting six of Roseville’s seven losses have come at the hands of some of the best teams in northern California. With a strong schedule and senior-class experience, Roseville is probably the third seed in Division III.

Shortstop Shaylen McDowell, pitcher Malaya Johnson and outfielder Taylor Black are all hitting in the .430s. McDowell has six home runs, and Johnson has five. Johnson is one of the areas best power pitchers with a 1.34 ERA. She had 35 strikeouts and gave up only nine hits in the three wins last week.

Golden Empire League

Casa Roble and Pioneer are two games behind Dixon, which measured itself in tournament play against Pinole Valley (18-3) and fared well with a 4-4 tie last week. The Rams followed that up with a 14-5 win over Benicia (14-5). In that game, sophomore pitcher Felesha Lepenske hit a walkoff three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth. She and senior Lexi Coyle are each hitting .450 and combine for a 1.35 ERA in the circle. Senior Brianna Humphries has nine home runs and 38 runs batted in.

More Playoff Projections

Other teams in the Sac Metro area headed to the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs include the following:

Johnson, River City and McClatchy in Division I.

Laguna Creek, Rodriquez and Cordova in Division II.

Rosemont, Pioneer and Center in Division III.

Casa Roble, Capital Christian, Marysville and Dixon in Division IV.

Union Mine, Encina and West Campus in Division V.

Bear River in Division VI.

Foresthill in Division VII.

Sutter, East Nicolaus and Wheatland will all be favorites in North Section play.

With that, here’s our Week 9 SacBee Top 20 softball rankings. (Records reflect games played through Saturday.) Send thoughts and tips to PeteBeeSports@gmail.com, or find me on Twitter, @Pete24Dufour.

The Bee’s Top 20 softball teams

Records through games played May 1.

1. Del Oro (20-3)

2. Sheldon (18-5)

3. St. Francis (18-2)

4. Elk Grove (17-4-1)

5. Vanden (15-0)

6. Folsom (15-5-1)

7. Rocklin (15-9)

8. Roseville (16-7)

9. Vista del Lago (17-2-1)

10. Pleasant Grove (13-9)

11. Sutter (20-1)

12. East Nicolaus (21-2)

13. Ponderosa (16-3-1)

14. Oakmont (14-4)

15. Whitney (9-11)

16. Wheatland (23-1)

17. Granite Bay (12-7)

18. Dixon (16-1-1)

19. River Valley (13-6-1)

20. Lincoln (10-10)

Bubble teams: Bear River (9-4), Casa Roble (13-8), Franklin (10-13), Inderkum (14-8), Liberty Ranch (10-1), Marysville (13-3), Pioneer (11-9-1), Rosemont (10-11), Woodcreek (13-9).