Two of this week’s best are Devyn Netz of Pasadena Maranatha and Josh White of Danville Monte Vista. Photos: PasadenaSportsNow.com & @MVHS_Baseball17 / Twitter.com.
One of our four honorees for this week is the younger sister of 2018 State Baseball Junior Player of the Year Dawson Netz of Pasadena Maranatha. And little sis is putting up some monster pitching-hitting totals for the early going of this season. Our three other writeups recognize the skills of baseball players from San Diego and Danville and a softball slugger from Clovis.
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Note: For these honors, we consider CIF Central Section players for Northern California. To nominate someone by 12 noon on most Mondays, email markjtennis@gmail.com.
Cal-Hi Sports Northern California
Baseball Player of the Week
Josh White
(Monte Vista, Danville) Sr.
For our Northern California baseball honoree, we go back to the CIF North Coast Section for the second time this season, but this time it’s to the East Bay Athletic League and the southern foothills of majestic Mt. Diablo where we honor a Cal-bound pitcher that took a loss this week to state No. 8 De la Salle of Concord, but it’s what he did last week that he’s rewarded for, so losing to a state top 10 team this week is not something we’re going to allow to wipe out White’s big start.
White was already blistering hot when he took the mound against California of San Ramon last week but by the time he was done with the host Grizzlies his right arm was smoking after he pitched a no-hitter with 13 strikeouts and no walks with the only thing separating Josh from a total whitewash and a perfect game were two errors in a 3-0 Mustangs’ victory. White picked off one of the runners that reached on an error and he was so dominant that at one point between the fifth and sixth innings he struck out five straight batters and he finished the game by fanning seven of the last eight he faced.
Prior to the California game, Josh started against West Catholic Athletic League power Serra of San Mateo in the Mustangs’ season opener and went three innings and gave up one hit with four strikeouts in what ended up as a 3-0 Monte Vista win. From there he started against College Park (Pleasant Hill) and went five innings and gave up no hits and no runs with four strikeouts but although he left with a 3-0 lead the relievers couldn’t hold the perennial NCS power in a 4-3 loss.
Add it all up and in his first 17 innings, White gave up no runs, one hit and no bases on balls. Even after De La Salle roughed him up a bit, White was still 2-1 with a 0.62 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 22.2 innings pitched.
Cal-Hi Sports Northern California
Softball Player of the Week
Allie Puente
(Clovis) Jr.
We go the CIF Central Section which we consider Northern California for players’ features and some of our rankings where we find our softball honoree who is the top player on a team that is the two-time defending Central Section Division I champion.
We realize by the time your eyes peruse this feature Puente and her Cougars’ teammates who are currently 9-2 and on the bubble of this week’s state rankings will likely already have completed a Wednesday afternoon game at nearby Bullard of Fresno to close out their non-league schedule before opening Tri-River Athletic Conference play next week with state No. 14 and cross-town arch rival Buchanan, but it’s not this week or next week that we are honoring the right-handed pitcher and outfielder for.
Last week Clovis was in Nevada for the Kick Off Classic at Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) where the Cougars went 5-1 with a win over the hosts to open play and a lone loss to state No. 20 Oaks Christian (Westlake Village) that was followed by a win over Desert Oasis of Las Vegas, but it’s what Puente did in the third game of the tournament that wins her the NorCal award.
In that game, Allie was like Muhammad Ali after she single-handedly pretty much knocked out the local girls from Faith Lutheran both from the circle and in the batter’s box. With bat in hand Puente was 3 for 3 with three home runs and nine RBI, and from the circle you guessed it. She pitched a no-hitter.
The last of Puente’s homers was a grand slam and she accomplished those numbers in just four innings. The homers tied a school record that was set by Megann Steege in a 1996 game vs. McLane of Fresno. Her nine RBI is a new school record held previously by Steege.
Cal-Hi Sports Southern California
Softball Player of the Week
Devyn Netz
(Maranatha, Pasadena) Jr.
For our Southern California softball award winner, we go to the shadows of the Rose Bowl less than a mile south of the storied stadium to this 673-student Christian co-educational college preparatory school where we find our honoree.
To say Netz is driving opposing pitchers and batters nuts, and putting up some insane numbers, is so true because that’s exactly what the little sister of Cal-Hi Sports 2018 State Baseball Junior of the Year Dawson Netz is doing for the 8-1 Minutemen girls.
Last week, in a game against boys basketball powerhouse Rancho Christian of Temecula, and in a game where Maranatha almost scored as many runs as most basketball teams score points in a game, Devyn drove in six of the 37 runs in a blanking of the Inland Empire girls and she went 5 for 5 with a double and two walks with four runs scored. She also started the game in the circle but only pitched two innings and struck out four of the six batters she faced.
Two weeks ago in a 9-0 victory over Immaculate Heart of Los Angeles, Netz pitched a perfect game and struck out 17 of the 21 batters. At the plate she was 3 for 4 with a triple, double, two RBI and two runs scored. Devyn gave up a hit and a walk in a 2-0 win over Pasadena, but in that game she had 19 strikeouts.
Last but not least she opened the season with a 5-0 shutout of neighboring Alhambra and the only thing between her and a perfect game was a walk after she fanned 17 batters. For good measure, Netz blasted two home runs and drove in four of the five runs.
So far this season, Netz is sporting a 0.53 ERA and she has been in double digits for strikeouts seven times with 110 batters fanned in 53 innings pitched. At the plate Devyn is hitting .630 with the two round trippers, three triples, three doubles, and 15 RBI and nine runs scored with only one strikeout and five walks in 27 at-bats.
We might create chaos in the Netz home if we don’t give a shout out to big brother. Through nine games for the 5-3-1 Minutemen, the 6-foot-1, 190-pound right-handed Arizona-committed pitcher and utility player is 3-1 with a 0.00 ERA and 38 strikeouts and no bases on balls in 24 innings pitched. As a batter, Dawson is hitting .438 with three doubles and four RBI and three runs scored in only 16 at-bats.
Gabe Jones led Mira Mesa to GMC tourney title. Photo: PerfectGame.org.
Cal-Hi Sports Southern California
Baseball Player of the Week
Gabe Jones
(Mira Mesa, San Diego) Sr.
For our Southern California boys baseball honoree, we head to the CIF San Diego Section for the first time this year for both baseball and softball where we find a third baseman that struck some fear in opposing pitchers with the way he’s been handling the bat.
Last week in leading the Marauders to the GMC Tournament Division III title, Gabe did his own resemblance of “the Babe” and now not only is he one of the San Diego Union Tribune’s Athlete of the Week but he adds a statewide weekly honor as well.
Jones’ biggest game of the week came in an 11-2 victory over Mater Dei Catholic of Chula Vista that not only avenged an earlier 4-3 loss in the GMC two weeks ago, but it was in the tournament’s title game. Gabe “the Babe” was 3 for 3 with five RBI in the final and he ended up 14 for 18 with nine RBI for the week.
Already this week, Jones had a two RBI double in an 11-10 slugfest win against cross-town Serra that the Marauders pulled out in the bottom of the eighth inning. For the season, the 5-foot-10, 180-pounder is hitting an even .500 with five doubles, 13 RBI and seven runs scored, and he’s only struck out twice in 42 at-bats for 8-3-1 Mira Mesa.
Harold Abend is the associate editor of CalHiSports.com and the vice president of the California Prep Sportswriters Association. He can be reached at marketingharoldabend@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow him on Twitter: @HaroldAbend
