Two of this week’s honorees are Emjay Peck from Viewpoint of Calabasas and Ryan Williams from Heritage of Brentwood. Photos: SportsRecruits.com & Twitter.com.
Both of our Northern California honorees this week are known more for one thing — pitching in one case and hitting for another — but our two Southern California featured players do both almost equally well. Our stops are in Brentwood and Roseville up north and then it’s down to Calabasas and Aliso Viejo for the south.
We hope you enjoy this free story on Cal-Hi Sports.com. For our state rankings packages in baseball and softball after the first free week plus State Stat Stars of the Week, state record updates and special features, please check out our Gold Club membership today. If you’re not a member, CLICK HERE.
Notes: For these honors, we also consider CIF Central Section players for Northern California. To nominate anyone, email markjtennis@gmail.com.
Cal-Hi Sports Northern California
Baseball Player of the Week
Ryan Williams (Heritage, Brentwood) Sr.
To find the Northern California Baseball Player of the Week, we head out to the East Contra Costa area of the East Bay potion of the CIF North Coast Section and we land adjacent to the Delta and in Brentwood.
It’s at Heritage where we find a senior right-handed pitcher who hasn’t been quite perfect, but when it comes to baseball and pitching is off to one heck of a start for the Patriots this season.
Last Saturday, in the final game of the Banner Island Showcase, played at the home of the Stockton Ports, and at a ballpark Williams told the East Bay Times he used to frequent as a kid, Ryan was flying high after tossing a four-hit shutout with seven strikeouts and one walk in a 4-0 victory over Tracy.
In his previous start, Williams went six innings of a 4-2 victory Bear Creek of Stockton and gave up no runs and only two hits with six strikeouts and one base on balls.
We hinted he wasn’t quite perfect but so far this season for 8-1-1 Heritage, Williams began this week at 5-0 with a 0.00 ERA and 28 strikeouts and a mere four walks in 28 innings pitched.
In three full varsity seasons with one appearance as a freshman, Ryan has gone 13-5 with a
2.24 ERA.
Roseville catcher Bella Tonso will play next at Nevada. Photo: Roseville HS / MaxPreps.com.
Cal-Hi Sports Northern California
Softball Player of the Week
Bella Tonso (Roseville) Sr.
The search for the Northern California Softball Player of the Week takes us around 20 miles northeast of the state capital along the I-80 corridor where we land at Roseville High just west of the interstate.
The Roseville mascot is the Tigers and so far this season none is growling or roaring louder than Tonso, and in four games last week the University of Nevada-committed catcher continued to impress with her power hitting so far this season.
Tonso started the week by smashing a home run and two doubles, and that produced two RBI and two runs scored in a 9-4 win over Sacramento Inderkum. Two days later, in a heartbreaking 9-8 loss to crosstown arch-rival Woodcreek, Tonso did what she could by blasting two home runs that drove in four and she scored twice.
Last Friday, in a mercy-shortened 14-0 win over crosstown Oakmont, Bella had two hits and two RBI. Then in the second tournament game on Friday, a 6-5 win against neighboring Rocklin, Tonso had a double and scored a run.
So far this season for Roseville, Bella has been the belle of the ball for the 8-6 Tigers. She is batting .458 with nine home runs, a triple, three doubles, 25 RBI and 14 runs scored. We know those totals won’t change this week since Roseville is listed with no games scheduled.
The nine round-trippers for Tonso is the No. 5 reported mark in the state and tops in the CIF
Sac-Joaquin Section. The 25 RBI is No. 1 in the Sac-Joaquin and top 30 in the state.
Cal-Hi Sports Southern California
Softball Player of the Week
Emjay Peck (Viewpoint, Calabasas) Soph.
The journey in search of the Southern California Softball Player of the Week takes us to the far western reaches of Los Angeles County to the Calabasas Highlands neighborhood of Calabasas and to the Viewpoint School on Mulholland Highway in the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains.
It’s at Viewpoint where we find a Patriots’ pitcher and slugger who is not a stranger to getting accolades, and now, after being recognized as the Gold Coast League MVP as a freshman, Peck has picked up a statewide honor early in her sophomore season.
Last week, in an 11-0 Gold Coast win at Archer School for Girls in Los Angeles, Emjay pitched a one-hitter with 15 strikeouts and no walks in the mercy-shortened victory, meaning her 15 Ks accounted for all the outs. In the batter’s box, Peck had a home run, triple, two RBI and two runs scored. Two days later, in a similar 15-0 mercy-shortened Gold Coast win at Santa Monica Crossroads, Peck packed a big bat one again after going 4-for-4 with a double, two RBI and two runs scored. Emjay had herway in the circle as well with a two-hitter with 14 strikeouts and three walks.
So far this season for the 8-2-1 Patriots, Peck is sitting at 8-2 with a 1.07 ERA and a whopping 156 strikeouts and only 15 walks in 65.2 innings pitched. At the plate, she’s hitting
.528 with three home runs, a triple, four doubles, 11 RBI and 14 runs scored.
The 156 strikeouts is the No. 4 reported mark in the state and No. 3 in the CIF Southern Section, but it’s only four whiffs behind the state leader who’s pitched in 17 games compared to 10 for Peck.
Brandon Tatch also was a key player when Aliso Niguel won the 2023 CIFSS D3 championship. Photo: Twitter.com.
Cal-Hi Sports Southern California
Baseball Player of the Week
Brandon Tatch (Aliso Niguel, Aliso Viejo) Sr.
We head to the hills of Southern Orange County, and for the second time this season we stop not far from the 73 Toll Road in Aliso Viejo, only this time on our visit to Aliso Niguel, Tatch catches more than State Stat Star honors with a statewide award as the Southern California Baseball Player of the Week.
Last week at the Anaheim Lions Tournament, the Wolverines’ slugger and pitcher got
it done both on the mound and at the plate.
In a 4-0 victory over Long Beach Poly, Tatch hatched a no-hitter with nine strikeouts and one base on ball. He also had a double that drove in the only run he needed in the victory. Earlier in the week, and in an Anaheim Lions 11-6 victory against Florida Key West, Brandon had two hits including a double, two RBI and a run scored.
So far this season for the 10-4 Wolverines, on the mound Tatch began this week at 3-2 with a 1.25 ERA. He also had 22 strikeouts and only six walks in 28 innings pitched. With bat in hand, he was hitting for a .404 average with seven doubles and 15 runs batted in.
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
