Prep softball: After a historic season, Sutter alone as NorCal champion; Sheldon No. 1

The historic 2022 softball season is in the books. This year saw not only a return to the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs, but the inaugural Northern California region championships came to softball.

The Sacramento region had eight teams in NorCals. The last team standing without a loss is Stefanie Danna’s Sutter Huskies, who defeated a school six times it’s size to win the Division III championship.

Sutter, behind the pitching of Riley Wickum, beat Central of Fresno 2-1 Saturday, as Wickum scattered six Grizzly hits around the farmland field of Sutter. The win capped an incredible 31-1 season for the Northern Section champs, whose only loss was a four-hit, 7-0 shutout to Elk Grove’s Aissa Silva.

Sutter, with an enrollment of 600, and East Nicolaus (250) were more like Division V schools in terms of enrollment, but the CIF noted not only their win-loss records but recent success. Central beat East Nicolaus 4-3 in the semifinals.

Dixon was the only other area team to make it to the NorCal finals, losing to Monterey on Saturday 5-1. Brianna Humphries capped off a fine athletic career with a home run over the centerfield fence for the Rams. Seven Ram players graduated that morning in the football stadium next to the softball field. Monterey was the “Cinderella” team of the tournament, starting out section play as the No. 8 seed.

In Division I, the Sac Bee’s three top-ranked teams were featured. Sheldon and Del Oro made it to the semifinals before bowing out. After scoring five runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to beat Archbishop Mitty 7-6 in the first round, Sheldon lost to the top-ranked team in the state, St. Francis of Mountain View, 4-0. The Lancers had already knocked off Sacramento’s St. Francis 8-2 in the opening round, despite home runs from Hope Jenkins and Alexandra Garcia. They won the top division with a 6-0 shutout over Clovis and finished the year with a 31-2 record.

A shorthanded Del Oro squad took a 2-0 lead over Clovis in the semifinals on a Kaleigh Lugowski home run. But the Cougars responded with a two homers of their own and downed the Eagles 6-2.

The Vista del Lago Eagles opened the NorCal Division II playoffs without their top player, Arizona-bound shortstop Tayler Biehl, who was out of the country when the Eagles hosted Benicia. Vista came up one run short, 6-5.

Kudos to the CIF for finally being able to pull off the NorCals, which were delayed two years due to COVID-19. There is talk of a state tournament somewhere down the road, but the CIF and it’s schools will have to find a way to deal with players and teams who have other commitments after school is out. While that is not an issue in basketball and football, it is in baseball and softball, where the travel-ball season starts in early June. But it was a great success for the teams involved and the play was outstanding at all levels.

Want more softball? Not ready to say goodbye to these fabulous seniors just yet? You are in luck. The 51st annual Optimist All-Star softball games are Wednesday evening at Capital Christian High School. Small-school teams play at 5:30 p.m., the large-school game is at 6:30. Your donations at the gate support the good work of the Sacramento Evening Optimist Club.

Final Sacramento Bee Softball Rankings

(Coaches, please send in your league’s all-league selections. All Metro Team coming soon.)

1. Sheldon (28-6)

2. Del Oro (27-5)

3. St. Francis (26-5)

4. Elk Grove (21-7-1)

5. Folsom (20-6-1)

6. Vanden (20-1)

7. Roseville (21-8)

8. Sutter (31-1)

9. Vista del Lago (24-5-1)

10. Rocklin (18-12)

11. Pleasant Grove (16-12)

12. East Nicolaus (29-3)

13. Ponderosa (22-4-1)

14. Granite Bay (15-10)

15. Dixon (24-2-1)

16. Wheatland (27-5)

17. Whitney (10-14)

18. Oakmont (17-6)

19. Marysville (20-5)

20. Woodland Christian (25-4)

Bubble teams: Capital Christian (12-8), Casa Roble (14-11), Del Campo (12-8-2), Inderkum (17-10), Laguna Creek (11-15), Liberty Ranch (14-2), Lincoln (12-13), Pioneer (13-11-1), River Valley (17-10-1), River City (15-9-1), Woodcreek (16-13).

This story was originally published June 7, 2022 at 8:42 AM.