The Bee’s softball Top 20: Sacramento-area stars in Pac-12 reflect area’s deep talent pool
To understand the level of softball talent produced in the Sacramento area, one need only look at the rosters for some of the NCAA Top 25 teams.
At Arizona, Elk Grove High School product Aissa Silva is a top pitcher for a team that also features shortstop Tayer Biehl (Vista del Lago) and outfielder Dakota Kennedy (Sheldon). All three players were strongly considered for Sacramento Bee Player of the Year honors.
Silva, who won The Bee award in 2022 after her junior season, leads the Pac-12 with 13 wins in the circle. Kennedy is hitting .402 with a slugging percentage of .522. Arizona played a series at Cal last week, and Cal’s roster includes Nailyn Marshall (Franklin), D’Auna Johnson (Sheldon) and Acacia Anders (Vacaville).
Rocklin’s Jayla Castro is at UCLA, East Nicolas’ Remmington Hewitt is at Oregon and Del Oro’s Maddie Moore is a star player at Clemson, just to name a few.
There are more stars coming from this region, some already committed to big-time programs, most notably Rocklin shortstop Syd Barker heading to Oklahoma this fall.
Pleasant Grove soaring
There’s a new leader soaring atop The Bee’s Top 20 as the Eagles from Pleasant Grove in the Elk Grove Unified School District are on the rise.
Maddie Lawson has impressed as the team ace with an ERA of 0.87 against top competition. With Lawson in the circle and Carly Henderson and Shealynn Stinson batting around .500, the Eagles are the team to beat in the Delta League.
Longtime powerhouse Sheldon has shown that any rumors of its demise are a bit premature. In fact, the entire Delta League has been showing up in the win column. No. 13 Sheldon (7-3) is developing a young pitching staff comprised of freshman Micah Kennedy and sophomore Kwinci Brown. Another underclassman, freshman Grace Harding, is hitting .423 for the Huskies in another reminder that freshmen softball players continue to make an immediate impact in this sport.
St. Francis, Cosumnes Oaks and Davis are all in it to win it in the Delta, though the clear favorites are Pleasant Grove, No. 8 Elk Grove and Sheldon.
Roseville leads CVC
Roseville has won five of its last six games entering the week, thanks in part to the long ball. The 20th-ranked Tigers have smacked 17 home runs in 14 games. Senior catcher Bella Tonso has a Sac-Joaquin Section-leading nine homers and is leading the team with a .458 batting average.
Freshman Sierra Hanna has five home runs with a .425 average, and senior Karissa Avila carries a .457 average with three dingers.
Bella Vista is 8-2 and ranked No. 14. Alyssa Dethlesfon and Makenzie Dean are each hitting above .500, and pitcher Hailey Shiflet is leading the Broncos’ pitching staff.
As Roseville and Bella Vista continue to develop in the circle, the chances to win the Capital Valley Conference increase along with contenders No. 15 Yuba City and No. 18 Woodcreek. Roseville leads the area in games played, dodging the rain drops and wet conditions to complete 14 games. Some teams have played less than half as many contests.
Sutter strong
Although the strength of schedule for Sutter (10-0) is not among the area’s best, the strength of the Huskies should not be questioned. Olivia Bauer is powerful in the circle and at the plate. Her bating average is a bunt single below .700, and she is delivering from the pitcher’s circle with a 0.78 ERA.
Coach Stefanie Danna’s squad is averaging 15 runs per game while giving up just one run per contest against lesser foes. Fourth-year varsity players Alexa Carino, Morgan Heggstrom and Madison Shamanski can carry this team to another section Division V championship run.
SFL clout
The Sierra Foothill League is in conference action. The teams play each other three times for one more season before realignment sets in for the new academic year.
No. 7 Rocklin is 5-6 -1, but the Thunder is making noise atop the SFL with a 3-0-1 record. Barker is the best position player in the area. She has a .419 batting average with two home runs and her glove work at shortstop is remarkable.
No. 3 Oak Ridge and fourth-ranked Whitney are going to be tough to beat in the SFL and No. 16 Folsom remains a threat.
The SFL remains the top league in the Sacramento area with the Delta and the CVC making early season noise. Lest we forget, second-ranked Capital Christian, with reigning Bee Player of the Year Alya Tuua in the circle, can beat anyone. The Cougars suffered their first loss in the Stephanie LeDoux tournament over the weekend, a rain-shortened, error-filled 5-4 setback to Northern Section power Pleasant Valley of Chico.
THE BEE’S TOP 20
SOFTBALL
Records entering the week
1. Pleasant Grove (6-1)
2. Capital Christian (6-1)
3. Oak Ridge (8-1)
4. Whitney (4-2)
5. Ponderosa (8-2)
6. Vacaville (6-3)
7. Rocklin (5-6-1)
8. Elk Grove (6-4)
9. Vista del Lago (7-4)
10. Sutter (10-0)
11. Dixon (5-1)
12. Pioneer (6-3)
13. Sheldon (7-3)
14. St. Francis (5-1)
15. Yuba City (11-4)
16. Folsom (7-6)
17. Bella Vista (8-2)
18. Woodcreek (4-3)
19. Wheatland (6-4)
20. Roseville (8-6)
Bubble: Christian Brothers (6-4), Cosumnes Oaks (6-3), Davis (7-2), Inderkum (7-5-1), Mesa Verde (8-3), Rio Linda (10-3), Rosemont (6-0), Vacaville (6-3).
- Pete Dufour/PeteBeeSports@gmail.com
