The Bee’s Softball Top 20: Delta League race is down to the wire; Flindt, Tuua shine again
League championships are in sight along with potential seedings in the Sac-Joaquin playoffs as the finish line nears in local high school softball. The Bee’s top 10 teams went 17-1 on the week as the cream is rising to the top.
The Delta League looks like it will go down to the last week of the season before it has a winner. Second-ranked Pleasant Grove, Elk Grove, St. Francis and Sheldon are all in the hunt. Pleasant Grove gave star pitcher Maddi Lawson a day off and got a nifty two-hitter from senior Alexa Lewis, who struck out nine Cosumnes Oaks batters in a 10-0 win.
Elk Grove picked up two wins and is tied with Pleasant Grove atop the Delta with 7-2 record, one game ahead of Sheldon and St. Francis. All four teams play each other in the final two weeks of the season.
CAL showdown
The Capital Athletic League had a big faceoff last week with a showdown between the No. 1 Capital Christian Cougars and 13th-ranked Christian Brothers. It all came down to freshman Miyani Marshall’s RBI single in the sixth inning and a one-hitter from pitcher Ayla Tuua for a 1-0 Capital Christian victory. CBS is now two games back in the CAL, a game ahead of Vista del Lago.
Flindt homers again
Granite Bay came up with three runs in the top of the seventh at third-ranked Whitney in a Sierra Foothill League showdown to tie the Wildcats at 3-3, only for the Wildcats to walk it off with a Mya Flindt home run in the bottom of the seventh and final inning. Flindt had two home runs on the week, giving her 11 for the season to go with her 33 RBIs and .600 average.
Flindt is second in the section with 11 home runs. If Del Oro doesn’t see the South Carolina bound-catcher again it will be none too soon. Flindt had another seven-RBI game against the Eagles last week. She finished the season against the Loomis squad with five homers, 17 RBIs, and eight hits in 10 at-bats. Whitney won all three matchups.
Whitney’s Hanna Duncan struck out 27 batters on the week before signing her letter of intent to play at Fresno State next season.
Power pitching
Fourth-ranked Oak Ridge stayed one game behind Whitney in the SFL with a 2-0 win over stubborn Rocklin as the Trojan’s pitching duo of freshman Kennedi Freeland and junior Ellison Schroeder have combined for a team ERA of 0.87.
Freeland tossed a one-hitter in a 10-0 win over Ponderosa. Sophomore Sam Alekman had a double, triple and three RBI in a 6-1 win over Granite Bay as Oak Ridge picked up three wins on the week.
“Our pitching is showing up big each game,” Trojans coach Sam Toy said. “They complement each other very well.”
11-run inning in a loss
West Park is sporting a 6-0 record to top the Foothill Valley League, but Oakmont made the Panthers of Roseville work for it.
Leading 7-0 after three innings, the Panthers gave up 11 Oakmont runs in the top of the fourth inning to trail by four. West Park clawed back to win 14-11 in a 31-hit slugfest. Oakmont may have set a section record for most runs scored in an inning in a losing cause.
With the win, the Panthers remain a game ahead of the Ponderosa Bruins. Chase Mueller had six RBI and retired seven of the eight batters she faced in the circle as the Bruins blanked Placer 19-0.
Around the horn
▪ Bella Vista picked up three wins on the week by outscoring opponents 28-5 to hold onto the top spot in the Capital Valley Conference. Haylie Hunt, Hailey Shiflet and Alyssa Dethlefson each homered in a 7-1 win over Woodcreek.
▪ Tori Hernandez is a junior who is doing it all for Yuba City. In the circle, she has compiled 107 strikeouts and a 1.95 ERA. At the plate, she is leading the Honkers with a .444 batting average with 10 extra-base hits. She is ninth in the section with 33 runs scored.
▪ Karissa Avila of Roseville also has crossed the plate 33 times for the Tigers, who are in a second-place tie in the CVC with Yuba City behind Bella Vista. Powering the Tigers at the plate is Bella Tonso, who is hitting .450 while leading the section with 13 home runs and 43 RBIs.
▪ Marissa Bryson homered, drove in two runs and scored three times in Pioneer’s 10-5 win over Vacaville. Bryson is a finalist for the PGF Futures game this summer. Pioneer has won six in a row, moving to 10-5 on the year and 8-1 atop the Golden Empire League, one game up on Dixon.
▪ Vanessa Keller of Kennedy is putting up some impressive numbers in her senior year. She leads the section with a 1.475 slugging percentage and is second in RBIs with 39.
▪ Summer Stephens of Foresthill is batting .712 with 15 doubles and a 1.211 slugging percentage. Foresthill is 11-4 but trails Woodland Christian by three games in the Central Valley California League.
THE BEE’S TOP 20
Softball
Records entering Monday
1. Capital Christian (14-2)
2. Pleasant Grove (13-3)
3. Whitney (13-2 )
4. Oak Ridge (16-3)
5. St. Francis (13-6)
6. Sutter (20-0)
7. Bella Vista (15-3)
8. Yuba City (15-7)
9. Sheldon ((13-9)
10. Elk Grove (14-8)
11. Vacaville (15-6)
12. West Park (11-3)
13. Ponderosa (13-4)
14. Rocklin ((9-13)
15. Christian Brothers (14-5)
16. East Nicolaus (17-3)
17. Vista del Lago (13-7)
18. Pioneer (15-5)
19. Dixon (13-4)
T20. Folsom (11-11)
T20. Roseville (14-10)
Bubble: Davis (12-7), Foresthill (11-4), Kennedy (13-4), Laguna Creek (11-7), Rosemont ((15-1), Monterey Trail (14-8), Wheatland (14-8), Woodland Christian (14-3).
— Pete Dufour/PeteBeeSports@gmail.com