Two of this week’s leading State Stat Stars are Lilly Robles of Northridge Heritage Christian and Royce Lewis of SJ Capistrano JSerra. Photos: @HCSwarriors & @JSerraLionsBB/Twitter.com.
We ran out of time to get last week’s honor roll posted due to Mr. Basketball State POY announcement, but have two weeks rolled into one for this post. In baseball, Ashwin Chona of Sage Hill (Newport Beach) gets a two-hit shutout, but did not throw a fourth straight no-hitter. Alex Reelfs of Los Altos (2nd no-hitter of year) and Royce Lewis of JSerra (went nuts at National Classic) also made the cut. In softball, we don’t think we’ve seen a hitting-pitching outing yet this season quite like the one that Lilly Robles had for Heritage Christian (Northridge) against Rolling Hills Prep. Kayla Bowen (Fresno Edison) and Brooke Johnson (Chino Hills) also had great weeks.
Note: We will collect totals from MaxPreps, newspapers, tweets and from those sent in to us. We also will compile single-game highs from this post throughout the season and of course we use our weekly State Stat Stars collection as an aid for the Cal-Hi Sports State Record Book. That is the only state record book anyone has ever done and we have published it seven times with full copyright protection. To report totals to us for this feature and for the record book, email markjtennis@gmail.com or call 209-608-1317. You can also text to 209-608-1317.
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(All players listed in alphabetical order)
(Writeups by Cal-Hi Sports editor Mark Tennis, contributing editor Paul Muyskens & CIF Central Section historian Bob Barnett)
(For games played through Saturday, April 15 with some games from this week)
BASEBALL
Tre Babauta (Mt. Pleasant, San Jose)
In the first of two routs vs James Lick of San Jose, Babauta went 2-for-3 with four runs scored and three RBI as the Cardinals won 18-2. In the second game, he did even better, going 4-for-4 with four runs scored and three RBI in a 20-0 victory. Babauta has been hitting over .500 for the season.
Trevor Beer (Crescenta Valley, La Crescenta)
Not only did Beer get his juices going by striking out 15 batters during a 10-0 win two weeks ago over Hoover of Glendale, but he also did it without allowing a hit as he pitched a no-hitter in the Falcons’ Pacific League win.
Ashwin Chona is only a sophomore at Sage Hill. Photo: SageHillSchool.org.
Ashwin Chona (Sage Hill, Newport Beach)
The sophomore who gained a lot of attention by throwing his third straight no-hitter recently to break the CIF Southern Section record had his streak end in a 10-0 win against Brethren Christian of Huntington Beach. Chona still had a two-hitter with 10 strikeouts but will go into the state record book behind three players from Northern California who had four no-hitters in a row, the most recent being Stephen Perry of Maxwell in 2011.
Max Graves & Jack Aldrich (Oaks Christian, Westlake Village)
Combining to pitch a no-hitter, it was the sophomore Graves that pitched five innings with three strikeouts while Aldrich pitched the other two during a 4-0 win over IMG Academy of Bradenton, Florida. Knowing the type of players that IMG gets, no-hitting IMG is definitely not an easy thing to do.
Carson Greene (La Jolla Country Day)
A junior shortstop who also caught passes last fall from big-time QB Braxton Burmeister, Greene was one of the hottest players at last week’s San Diego Lions Tournament. He got on base in 13-of-16 plate appearances and ended 9-for-12 officially with two homers, one triple, one double and five runs scored.
Royce Lewis (JSerra, San Juan Capistrano)
Projected to be a first-round selection in the MLB Draft in less than two months, our State Junior of the Year for last season was named offensive player of the tournament at the National Classic as he went 8 for 11 with a double, triple and two home runs.
Chazz Martinez (Corona del Mar, Newport Beach)
Doing his part on the mound and at the plate during a 2-1 win two weeks ago over a Beckman of Irvine team that has been among the highest ranked in Orange County, Martinez allowed just three hits and struck out four while driving in the Sea Kings’ two runs with a two-run home run.
Jacob McBride (Hanford)
He had a career high of five hits (including one triple) and also collected two RBI in a 12-6 win over North of Bakersfield in last week’s Fresno Easter Tournament.
Charles Middleton (Lincoln)
One of the leading hitters in Northern California with an average that has been above .600, Middleton led the Zebras to a 13-1 win against River City of West Sacramento. He finished 3-for-3 with two homers and three RBI. After that game, Middleton had at least three RBI in four of his last six games.
Sean Mullen (Stockdale, Bakersfield)
When the Mustangs beat Centennial of Bakersfield 21-8 in a lopsided game two weeks ago, the UCLA committed Mullen led the way with six RBI. He hit two home runs and also was the winning pitcher. Teammates Jalen Smith hit a grand slam for five RBI while Jacob Riley had five RBI.
Alex Reelfs (Los Altos)
The plan was for him to get a few innings after spring break with league play getting more serious, but Reelfs ended up going the distance and pitching his second no-hitter of the season during a 6-0 win over Branham of San Jose on Saturday.
Nate Samarin (Liberty, Madera Ranchos)
The sophomore Samarin was like an assassin as he pitched a six-inning no-hitter with 13 strikouts as Liberty beat Dos Palos 10-0.
Nick Salas (Highland, Bakersfield)
The Scots were off to an 18-3 start to the season and this freshman has played a big part in their offensive success. He hit three doubles and drove in six runs during a 13-4 win over Tehachapi and then the next day hit his second home run on the year while driving in four runs during a 12-1 win over Liberty of Bakersfield. For the season, Salas was hitting .422 with 36 runs batted in.
Ryan Silva (Redlands East Valley)
He sparked the Wildcats to a sweep last week against arch-rival Redlands. In the first game, Silva struck out 12 and hurled a four-hitter as REV won 1-0. Then later in the week, it was Silva going 2-for-4 with two RBI to lead the Wildcats to a 5-3 victory.
Fowler’s Feaver Over 400
Congratulations to longtime coach Bill Feaver of Fowler, who started out last week with 398 career wins but made to 400 after his team beat Parlier 1-0 and Riverdale 12-2. According to CIF Central Section historian Bob Barnett, Feaver became the 15th from the season to reach 400 career wins in baseball. Fowler afterward also notched win over Dinuba and Dos Palos to push Feaver’s win total fo 402.
SOFTBALL
Briana Avalos (Santa Teresa, San Jose)
In a crucial Blossom Valley Athletic League Mt. Hamilton Division contest, Avalos went 4-for-5 with four runs scored one RBI in a 11-6 victory vs. Westmont of Campbell. The Saints trailed 6-5 after the third inning but came back to stay unbeaten in league standings.
Karizma Bergesen (South San Francisco)
After a win against Mills of Millbrae, Bergesen was batting .655 for the season. And in that game she finished 3-for-3 with two triples, one double, two RBI and three runs scored.
Brooke Johnson of Chino Hills has signed a letter of intent with De Paul University in Chicago. Photo: californiacruisers.org.
Tehya Bird (Cloverdale)
Just a freshman, Bird has had a nice launch to her prep career in the Redwood Empire. In a 13-0 romp past St. Helena last week, she went 4-for-4 with two doubles and six RBI. Already this week in a 8-1 victory vs. Willits, Bird has bashed two homers and finished 3-for-3 with six RBI. She also raised her batting average to .725 with six homers and 39 RBI.
Kayla Bowen (Edison, Fresno)
While Edison lost its opening game in the Clovis Easter Classic to a very good Hanford West team 12-7, Bowen started a huge week by going 3-for-3 with one homer and three RBI. In her second game, Bowen was the winning pitcher and had one hit and two RBI. She finished up with even more monstrous totals. Bowen homered twice as part of a 4-for-4 line and had eight RBI in a 15-4 win over Clovis West of Fresno. She then finished the tourney by going 4-for-5 with five RBI in a 19-7 victory against Clovis North. For the week, Kayla finished with 12 hits, 18 RBI and three home runs.
Noel Chavarria (San Benito, Hollister)
Earning tournament MVP honors at the Las Vegas Spring Jamboree, Chavarria was 9-for-18 with three home runs and seven runs batted in during the Balers’ five wins at the tournament. They broke into the State Top 20 after they came home and will be looking to do well this weekend at the NorCal Classic.
Hailey Dolcini (Fortuna)
Throwing a pair of one-hitters last week against Eureka as part of a three-game series, she went a perfect 3-0 against the Loggers and struck out 31 batters over 19 scoreless innings while allowing just five hits. At the plate, Dolcini had two hits in each of Fortuna’s wins, including two doubles in game one and one homer with four runs batted in during game two of the three game series.
Alicia Estrada (Rio Mesa, Oxnard)
Already named as one of our players of the week earlier this season, the freshman continues to put up big pitching performances. She pitched a perfect game with 13 strikeouts two weeks ago during an 18-0 win over Channel Islands of Oxnard.
Jessie Fontes (Grace Brethren, Simi Valley)
This freshman has recorded at least 11 strikeouts in all five starts this season and struck out a season-high 20 batters during a 4-3 win in eight innings two weeks ago over Nordhoff of Ojai. In Fontes first 34 innings this season, she struck out 81 batters. Then last week in a 21-0 romp past Bishop Diego of Santa Barbara, Fontes pitched a five-inning no-hitter with 13 strikeouts while also driving in two runs and scoring three times.
Nicole Hammoude (Bishop O’Dowd, Oakland)
She’s one of two sisters along with junior Frankie Hammoude who has made the Dragons very tough to beat in the last two seasons. Nicole, a sophomore shortstop/outfielder, was the one to watch during a 12-0 win last week vs. Acalanes of Lafayette. She wound up 2-for-2 with two homers, five RBI and three runs scored. Nicole also was batting .676 for the season after that outing.
Brooke Johnson (Chino Hills)
She capped a huge week by pitching a shutout and hitting a two-run homer to lead the Huskies past Cajon of San Bernardino 9-0. Earlier in the week, Johnson also pitched well and had an RBI single in a 8-2 win vs. Etiwanda. That was followed when Johnson knocked in the game-winning run in a 8-7 win against Upland. She had five homers and 38 RBI for the season heading into this week.
Tiara La Porte (Kennedy, Granada Hills)
Among the state leaders in runs batted in, this sophomore catcher and infielder drove in six runs in a game for the third time this season when she homered and had three hits during a 8-7 win over Riverton of Utah at the Las Vegas Spring Jamboree.
Ailynn Martinez (Fowler)
She had a career day against Riverdale in a 17-4 win two weeks ago. Martinez went 3-for-3 at the plate with a homer, double, four runs scored and seven RBI.
Caralin Nunes (Ceres)
She has had some big strikeout games already this season, including 21 during an extra inning 1-0 win over Oakdale and she had another last week when she allowed just one hit while striking out 17 during a 6-0 win over Central Valley of Ceres. During 93 innings this season, she now has 183 strikeouts.
Lilly Robles (Heritage Christian, Northridge)
She had quite the outing in a 14-0 victory against Rolling Hills Prep of San Pedro. At the plate, Lilly lambasted the ball for three homers, almost hit a fourth with a triple and finished 4-for-4 with six RBI. She also pitched in that game and had a one-hitter with 11 strikeouts. Later in the week against much tougher La Reina of Thousand Oaks, Robles had a three-hitter with eight strikeouts and went 2-for-3 win an RBI in a 2-1 win.
Izzy Starr (Mountain House)
Is she a Starr for the young Mustangs? It sure looks like it. Izzy, a sophomore, had two strong outings last week. In a 14-13 win vs. Ben Holt of Stockton, she ended 4-for-5 with two homers and six RBI. And in a 21-2 win vs. Modesto Christian, she went 2-for-4 with a double, triple and four RBI.
Janae Weise (Sierra Canyon, Chatsworth)
Potentially leading the state in home runs despite being just a freshman, she hit two home runs and drove in five runs during a 16-0 win over Campbell Hall of North Hollywood. It was the seventh multi-homer game of the season for Weise, who now has 14 home runs while hitting .467 with 39 runs batted in over 18 games.
Katella’s 20-run inning
It was a bottom of the 2nd inning that seemingly would never end as the Knights scored all 20 of their runs during the one inning in a 20-1 win over Anaheim. Alexis Cuevas and Valeria Mejia each had a team-high four runs batted in during the inning. FYI, the state record of 37 runs in one inning was set in 1990 by Head-Royce of Oakland in a 50-1 win vs. Emery of Emeryville.
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
