Here’s some record updates and highlights of top coaches, players & teams from the past two weeks as reported to us from CIF Central Section historian Bob Barnett of Fresno. Bob has done phenomenal work on behalf of CIF Central Section schools, athletes and coaches for more than 40 years.
SOFTBALL
Congratulations to Corinne Acosta, a junior at Exeter, in breaking the 2005 section record set by Nikki Schrey of Edison (Fresno) in 2005 of 71 hits in a season. Corinne went 2-for-3 at the plate, and scored the winning run in a 1-0 win over Washington Union in a Division IV playoff game. Acosta now has 72 hits for the season, and has hit in 34 consecutive games, dating back to the last four games in the 2017 season.
Junior Sydney Kuma of Washington Union (Easton) set a school record by hitting her 10th home run of the season and was the winning pitcher by throwing a no-hitter with 13 strikeouts in a 10-0 win over Cesar Chavez in a D4 playoff game prior to the Panthers’ loss to Exeter. Kuma also pitched a six-inning two-hitter in that game, with both hits going to Corinne Acosta.
Erin Askins of Tehachapi set a school record by hitting her 14th home of the season in a 10-5 win against Reedley in a D3 section playoff game. Askins also went 2-for-4 at the plate with two RBI and scored one time. Askins now has 22 home runs in her career.
Pitcher Helen Haynes of Kern Valley (Lake Isabella) had a career high by striking out 20 batters and she threw a seven-inning no-hitter in a 8-0 win over Sierra Pacific of Hanford.
Freshman Kadyn Smith of Bakersfield Christian was the star of the game in a 5-4 win over Woodlake. Kadyn had 16 strikeouts in seven innings, with a two-hitter while at the plate she had two hits herself with two RBI.
2-3 hits, 2 rbi’s for the game.
From a game two weeks ago, Sadi Hartman & Samantha Alvarez of Kern Valley put on a hitting clinic in a 33-4 win over California City. Hartman was perfect at the plate, going 5-for-5, scored five times, hit two home runs and had a whopping 10 RBI, which ties for third best in section history. Alvarez also was perfect at the plate (4-for-4), scored six times, hit two homers and had a career high of nine RBI.
In a 31-0 romp past Kennedy of Delano two weeks ago, Reagan Hamilton of Taft matched her career high with 8 RBI, scored six times and hit for the cycle. Teammate Brooklyn Yaws also had a big day at the plate, going 5-for-5 and had five RBI.
BASEBALL
Sierra High’s Zack Dennis had his 28-game consecutive hitting streak come to an end that covered two years even though hi team posted a 12-0 win last week in the section playoffs against McLane of Fresno. For the season, Zack’s 25-game hitting streak ranks fifth best in section history with the 28-game overall streak sitting in seventh. He also tied a school record with 47 hits for the season.
Two weeks ago, Hunter Ratekin of Bakersfield Christian tied a section record by hitting four doubles in a 18-2 win against Shafter. Ratekin also had a career high of five hits, five rbi and was the winning pitcher. The Eagles also set a section record by hitting 11 doubles in the game.
Congratulations from two weeks ago to Kerman High School in winning its ninth consecutive North Sequoia League Championship, a streak that has gone from 2010 to the current season. That ties Kerman with Roosevelt of Fresno (1929-1937) for the most consecutive league titles in section history.
