State Stat Stars of the Week

Matt Trask of Davis (going to UCLA) throws a pitch earlier this season while Taylor White (going to Ohio State obviously) shows off some of her gear. Both seniors are in the midst of standout seasons. Photos: Trask Photography & Courtesy Student Sports.

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As has been customary for many years, we collect the state stat stars in support of the Cal-Hi Sports State Record Book & Almanac. The book has been published seven times (the most recent, though, was 2009) and is as official as a state record book can be since no other exists. To report a State Stat Star of the Week of your own, please email details to markjtennis@gmail.com.

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(Mostly for games played in the last two weeks but including some from this week; thanks to CIF Central Section historian Bob Barnett for continued contributions to this feature and to the state record book.)

BASEBALL

Sean Bouchard (Cathedral Catholic, San Diego)
Another leading all-state candidate from one of the state’s top teams, Bouchard hammered a pair of homers and drove in five runs during the Dons’ 8-2 triumph last week over arch-rival St. Augustine. For the season, the UCLA-bound shortstop is hitting more than .360 with seven homers and eight doubles. Bouchard’s pitching ace teammate, Brady Aiken, continues to be ranked at or near the top of various MLB mock drafts.

Craig Colen (Lowell, San Francisco)
The junior infielder/pitcher played a starring role when Lowell defeated Oakland Tech 5-2 to win the final game of the TransBay Series. Colen ripped a two-run triple in the first inning, then scored on a wild pitch and then later in the game pitched four innings with just one baserunner allowed.

Tyler Deason (St. Francis, Mountain View)
Another of the Lancers’ aces along with lefty John Gavin, Tyler pitched five innings of no-hit ball followed by two more from teammate Tim Susnara in a 10-0 win last week over Sacred Heart Cathedral in the West Catholic Athletic League semifinals.

Nico Hoerner (Head-Royce, Oakland)
One of the standouts for Head-Royce’s 17-4 squad is this junior. Hoerner went 3-for-4 with four runs scored and three RBI in a 22-1 romp last week against Redwood Christian. For the season, he was batting .569 with three homers and 32 RBI.

Alex Jackson (Rancho Bernardo, San Diego)
The Mr. Baseball State Player of the Year candidate entered his second game of this week with 11 homers on the season and 47 for his career. Jackson hit No. 11 when the Broncos beat Poway on May 12. He tied the CIF San Diego Section record of 47 set in 2005 by John Drennen, who also played at Rancho Bernardo. The state record for career homers at 52 was set in 2007 by current Kansas City Royal Mike Moustakas when he played at Chatsworth.

Noah Kronfly (Edison, Huntington Beach)
In a 1-0 win over Fountain Valley that forced the Barons into a tie for first-place in the final Sunset League standings, Kronfly pitched eight innings in posting the shutout. Earlier in the season, Kronfly, a junior, pitched a 1-0 shutout against Los Alamitos and UCLA-bound Jacob Nix.

Chris Mathewson (Kaiser, Fontana)
At the plate, Mathewson had a double and homer last week when Kaiser beat Bloomington 11-3. He also went 2-for-4 in another game, raising his average to .506 with 33 RBI. As a pitcher, he only went four innings in those games, but should be a force in the CIFSS playoffs. In the regular season, Mathewson posted an 8-1 record with a 0.78 ERA and 94 strikeouts.

Justin Nieto (Liberty, Bakersfield)
He had a season high of six RBI and he hit two home runs, one a grand slam, in a heart-breaking 12-11 loss to Buchanan of Clovis in a CIF Central Section Division I playoff game.

Randy Post (Sutter)
The quarterback for Sutter’s football team last fall is now shining on the diamond. In a 11-2 win last week over Paradise in the CIF Northern Section playoffs, Post piled up three hits with two doubles and three RBI. He raised his season totals to seven homers with 36 RBI and a .534 batting average.

Joe Ryan (Drake, San Anselmo)
In a 9-2 win over Justin-Siena of Napa that helped the Pirates finish ahead of the Braves in the Marin County Athletic League standings, Ryan struck out a season-high 16 batters. The performance also pushed his season totals to 11-0 with a 0.59 ERA and 117 strikeouts.

Matt Trask (Davis)
With dozens of scouts on hand, Trask out-dueled Logan Webb of Rocklin in Tuesday night’s winner’s bracket game in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I North playoffs. Trask, headed to UCLA, pitched six innings and didn’t give up a hit in the 6-1 win. He struck out six but gave up a run due to walks and a wild pitch. Trask pitched seven innings in his previous start in a 2-1 playoff win over Granite Bay, which went with Area Code Games veteran Mitch Hart. Trask also had a game-tying RBI single in that game.

Montana Dixon of Lakewood is only a sophomore but her power hitting is already very obvious with 17 homers this season. She’s also already committed to Stanford. Photo: Courtesy Student Sports.

Natalie Calderas (Jurupa Hills, Fontana)
The power-packed senior might have given up a run and two hits in a 9-1 win over Bell Gardens earlier this week in the CIFSS playoffs, but so what? She also struck out 21 batters. At the plate, Calderas also shined with three hits, including a homer, and drove in five.

Ashley Cervantes (Redwood, Visalia)
The senior had a fine game against Wasco as she went 3 for 4 at the plate with two doubles and five RBI in a 14-0 win in a CIF Central Section Division III playoff game. She also improved her career total to 172 hits, which is a school record.

Montana Dixon & Kylie Lundberg (Lakewood)
Dixon didn’t homer when Lakewood won its first-round game of the CIFSS Division II playoffs, 11-1 in six innings, over Montclair. But the sophomore catcher who has committed to Stanford has hit 17 for the season (not listed in MaxPreps) to rank second in the state and might threaten the CIFSS record of 21 set two years ago by Indio’s Heather Morales and Vista Murrieta’s Sierra Romero. In the win over Montclair, Lundberg did hit a pair of homers among three hits. The junior also pitched a complete game.

Darbi Duke (Liberty, Madera Ranchos)
Duke had a career day against Mira Monte of Bakersfield, as she went 4 for 4 at bat, scored four times, hit two home runs and had seven RBI. The Hawks won the CIF Central Section D4 playoff game 19-1.

Jessica Garcia & Jill Coehlo (Hughson)
In her four years with the Huskies, Garcia is leaving with four straight CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division V titles. This time, Hughson did it by having to win twice, too. In the deciding game against Calaveras of San Andreas, Garcia slammed a three-run homer during an 11-run inning and went 3-for-4 with six RBI. Hughson won 19-5. Coehlo also shined in that game as she went 5-for-6 with a double, triple and five RBI.

Sam Glantz (Oaks Christian, Westlake Village)
It’s been a smooth ride for Glantz and her teammates in the Tri-Valley League, which included a 12-0 win last week against Santa Clara of Oxnard. In that game, she went 3-for-4 with two homers, a double and drove in five runs.

Sarah Layman (Big Valley Christian, Modesto)
Facing 15-1 Millennium of Tracy in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division VII final last weekend, Layman led the way for the Lions in a 4-2 win. They were only 9-8 entering the contest. Layman pitched a complete game and had a double and triple at the plate.

Elise McCarthy (Monrovia)
The younger sister of former Monrovia all-state football player Ellis McCarthy (now at UCLA), Elise went 3-for-4 with a double, triple and three runs scored in a 9-4 win last week over La Canada. The senior outfielder, who is headed to Cal State Northridge, was batting .667 for the season.

Aria Pogni (Tamalpais, Mill Valley)
Pogni provided the power with two home runs for Tam when it lost 7-6 last week to Terra Linda of San Rafael. She now has 14 homers for the season, which is among the state leaders, but she still needs three more to tie the total of Terra Linda’s Alyssa Ross, who hit 17 last season as a senior.

Selina Ta’amilio (Vista Murrieta, Murrieta)
This one is hot off the presses for this week as Ta’amilio was the hero in Vista Murrieta’s 7-0 win over nationally ranked Esperanza of Anaheim in the opening round of the CIFSS Division I playoffs. All Selina did against the Aztecs was hit a two-run homer and pitch a two-hitter with nine strikeouts. It could be the start of something big for the Broncos.

Brianna Tautalafua (Carson)
The Colts’ slugger ended the regular season by hitting her state-leading 19th homer and went 2-for-4 with three RBI in a 6-5 victory against Banning of Wilmington. Tautalafua needs just two more homers to move into a tie for second on the all-time state list. She will need many more than that, however, to get close to the state and L.A. City Section record of 27 set in 2009 by Shannon Colquitt from King-Drew.

Vanessa Washington (Pleasant Grove, Elk Grove)
Pleasant Grove’s surge to the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section D1 finals (those were played on Wednesday afternoon) against unbeaten Vacaville was fueled by Washington. In a 8-3 win against Roseville that knocked the Tigers out of the tourney, Washington hit a three-run homer. That was her third homer in three games (one was in a loss to Vacaville) and gave her 15 for the season. She will play next at Delaware State.

Taylor White (Chaminade, West Hills)
Bound for Ohio State, White is having a monster year for the Eagles. In a 15-1 win last week over Flintridge Sacred Heart, White went 5-for-5 with two doubles and a triple. That raised her batting average to .735 with 50 hits and nine homers.

Shea Williams (Mariposa County, Mariposa)
Facing unbeaten Rio Vista was no problem for Williams in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division VI playoffs. She went 3-for-3 with a double and triple as Mariposa rolled 13-0. In the section final, teammate Leah Lafata (a freshman) pitched a three-hitter and had 12 strikeouts in a 4-3 triumph against Delhi.

Thanks to Paul Muyskens for contributing to this honor roll.

Mark Tennis is the co-founder and publisher of CalHiSports.com. He can be reached at markjtennis@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow Mark on the Cal-Hi Sports Twitter handle: @CalHiSports