Two of this week’s honorees are Ty Madrigal (his brother, Nick, is on his left) of Elk Grove and Makayla Martin of Scripps Ranch. Photos: Mark Tennis & courtesy school.
This is our final set of honorees for the 2014-15 school year and all four were major contributors last week toward teams that won section titles. They are from Elk Grove, Woodland Hills, Hollister and San Diego.
For a list of every NorCal/SoCal Player of the Week that we chose during the 2014-15 school year, CLICK HERE.
Note: For purposes of this feature, we are considering the CIF Central Section to be in the north.
Cal-Hi Sports Northern California
Baseball Player of the Week
Ty Madrigal (Elk Grove) Sr.
Head coach Jeff Carlson gave the ball to this senior left-hander to start the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I championship series and he didn’t disappoint. Madrigal had 10 strikeouts and pitched a complete game shutout during a 5-0 win over St. Mary’s of Stockton.
It also was Madrigal’s ninth win of the season as he finished his high school career with a record of 18-4 and as a section champion. The Thundering Herd won the series with a 5-2 triumph on Saturday after the 5-0 shutout on Friday.
Earlier in the playoffs, Madrigal combined with Dylan Carlson to throw a no-hitter against Granite Bay. His twin brother, Nick, anchored the defense behind him at shortstop and is regarded as one of California’s top MLB prospects for next week’s amateur draft.
Cal-Hi Sports Southern California
Baseball Player of the Week
Matt Malconian (El Camino Real, Woodland Hills) Sr.
Despite not making the varsity baseball team at El Camino Real until this season, his senior year, Malconian got rewarded for his hard work and determination and ended up being a big reason the Conquistadors captured their eighth CIF L.A. City Section championship with a 4-3 win over Cleveland of Reseda last Saturday at Dodger Stadium.
Malconian was called out of the bullpen with a runner on second and one out in the fourth inning and wound up pitching 3 2/3 scoreless innings of relief to finish the playoffs with two saves and a win.
During his freshman year, Matt tried out as a first baseman. He finally made the roster this spring for his pitching. “It shows you can never give up,” he said to the Los Angeles Times after the game. “I love the game. I love being part of it. I love my team.”
Cal-Hi Sports Northern California
Softball Player of the Week
Adriana Ibarra (San Benito, Hollister)
She was just one out away from a perfect game but a two-out walk in the seventh inning had her end up with a no-hitter when the Haybalers advanced to their 10th straight CCS Division I section championship game with an 8-0 win over Los Altos.
According to the San Jose Mercury News, Ibarra had a great drop-ball that was hitting the outside corner and contributed to 14 ground ball outs. While she didn’t throw a no-hitter in the championship game, she did get the start and the win during the 8-5 win over Wilcox of Santa Clara. It was San Benito’s ninth section title in 10 years. Ibarra’s sister, Marisa, pitched for the team in four consecutive CCS title game wins.
Cal-Hi Sports Southern California
Softball Player of the Week
Makayla Martin (Scripps Ranch, San Diego) Sr.
Before she heads to play for Auburn in the SEC, Martin had some unfinished business and took care of it by leading Scripps Ranch last weekend to the CIF San Diego Section Division I title.
In the final game, a 2-1 victory over top seed and 2014 Open Division champ Carlsbad, Martin struck out 11, gave up five hits and knocked in the winning run with an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth inning. Earlier in the playoffs, Martin struck out the last six straight batters in a 2-1 win over Ramona.
“Makayla was my lone senior this season,” said Scripps Ranch head coach John Kelly. “Makayla has also been a member of the SoCal Athletics for the last several years pitching them to a 16U PGF nationals championship last summer. In short, Makayla was the ultimate difference maker both in the circle and at the plate for us this season.”
Martin ended the season 14-4 with a 1.19 ERA and also batted .480 with 32 RBI. In addition, she made no errors on 73 total fielding chances inside the circle.
Paul Muyskens is the Stockton office assistant editor for CalHiSports.com. 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
