Two of this week’s top state stat stars are Travis Vander Molen of Ripon Christian and Mia Camuso from Shasta of Redding. Photos: James Burns/The Modesto Bee & Twitter.com.
It’s a wrap on the great career of Redding Shasta’s Mia Camuso, who makes the state record book in a multitude of career hitting categories. Other softballers on this week’s honor role include a pitcher from Union Mine, Beth Hammer, who had three straight no-hitters. For baseball, Huntington Beach’s big-time duo of Hagen Danner and Nick Pratto both hit two homers in the same game while pitcher from Mt. Whitney of Visalia now knows what it’s like to no-hit your rival.
Note: Writeups this week mostly for games played through May 13 but also from two weeks ago and some mentions from this week. Writeups also by Paul Muyskens & CIF Central Section historian Bob Barnett. We also 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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BASEBALL
Landon Anderson (Mayfair, Artesia)
Crosstown Artesia High couldn’t come close to solving Anderson when the two teams played during the next-to-last week of the regular season. The junior first baseman/pitcher tossed a no-hitter with nine strikeouts and walked only one in the 3-1 victory. Anderson also had an RBI double.
Angelo Bortolin (Serra, San Mateo)
Now hitting .434 with 33 runs batted in on the season, he had a two-homer game with six runs batted in while also doubling twice two weeks ago during a 6-2 win over Archbishop Mitty of San Jose. He then had two more doubles while driving in four runs last week during an 11-1 win over Archbishop Riordan of San Francisco.
Look for details soon on exciting, new way for every stat star, player of the week and all-state player to be able to order their own highlight video.
Blake Costa (Tulare Western)
In a performance from two weeks ago, he pitched a seven-inning no-hitter with eight strikeouts in a 7-0 win over Monache of Porterville. With the win, the Mustangs also clinched their sixth straight East Yosemite League championship.
Hagan Danner & Nick Pratto (Huntington Beach)
Putting on a home run display that led the Oilers to a 7-1 win over Fountain Valley in the Sunset League, both Danner and Pratto each two hit home as the win clinched a playoff spot.
Bryce Etchandy (Foothill, Tustin)
Coming up more than handy for the Knights in a game two weeks ago to defeat Brea Olinda of Brea, he hit two home runs and drove in five runs in the 6-0 win that clinched the North Hills League championship.
Jared Horn (Vintage, Napa)
One of top strikeout pitchers in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section, he pitched a no-hitter with 13 strikeouts during a 13-0 win over Napa last week. It was the sixth time this season the Cal-bound Horn had at least 10 strikeouts in a game with his season-high coming earlier this season during a 2-0 extra-inning win over Vacaville that saw him strike out 17.
Tiegen Jones (Capital Christian, Sacramento)
A player we’ve also honored for basketball (he was on this year’s all-state small schools team), Jones is going to be a pitcher at Fresno State for baseball. In a 2-0 win over Lindhurst of Marysville last week, Jones pitched a perfect game with 12 strikeouts. He also already gotten 10 strikeouts in a CIF Sac-Joaquin Section playoff game this week vs. West Campus of Sacramento.
Schafer Kraemer (Sacred Heart Prep, Atherton)
Named by the San Jose Mercury News as its San Mateo County boys athlete of the week, he had a bases-loaded clearing triple during a 6 for 11 week that also saw him throw out a runner at home. The Gators captured the Peninsula Athletic League tournament championship.
Rudy Mendoza (Christian Brothers, Sacramento)
A junior shortstop to watch, Mendoza was a contender to be NorCal Player of the Week two weeks ago when he went 3-for-3 with a double and five RBI vs. El Camino of Sacramento. Last week, he continued to shine by going 2-for-2 with a double and a triple in a 7-3 victory vs. Casa Roble of Orangevale and 1-for-3 with two RBI in a 12-2 win over the Rams.
Holden Powell delivers pitch for Mt. Whitney of Visalia. Photo: Twitter.com.
Holden Powell (Mt. Whitney, Visalia)
The senior pitcher had his dream game by throwing a seven-inning no-hitter with three strikeouts in a 1-0 win over Redwood of Visalia. With the win, Mt. Whitney also finished in first-place in the West Yosemite League and earned the top seed in the CIF Central Section Division II playoffs.
Hunter Schilperoort (Westmont, Campbell)
From two weeks ago, this junior improved to 5-1 on the season with a 0.93 ERA after pitching a no-hitter with seven strikeouts during a 5-0 win over Lincoln of San Jose in BVAL play.
Brenden Smith (Biggs)
In a 21-6 triumph by the Wolverines over Los Molinos in the CIF Northern Section Division V playoffs, Smith ripped four hits in five at-bats and had a homer and five RBI. His and his team’s season then ended earlier this week in a loss to Esparto.
Dylan Spacke (Ramona)
In addition to going 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBI in a 9-0 win by the Bulldogs against Orange Glen of Escondido, Spacke also pitched three scoreless innings with four strikeouts. One week earlier, he went 3-for-4 with a homer and five RBI when Ramona beat Oceanside 10-6. Spacke ended the regular season with seven homers in all.
Travis Vander Molen (Ripon Christian)
He’s been red-hot in recent weeks for the Knights. The run includes a 3-for-3 line with four RBI, including a double and homer, in a 11-0 shutout of Waterford. Vander Molen also went 2-for-2 with two doubles and two RBI vs. LeGrand (11-1 win) and 3-for-4 with four runs scored, a homer and two RBI vs. LeGrand (24-1 win).
Matt Vigil (Jurupa Valley, Fontana)
In his previous start prior to taking the mound last week vs. Arroyo Valley of San Bernardino, Vigil gave up two hits and struck out nine. Then in the 7-0 win over AV, he was even better with a one-hitter and 12 strikeouts. For the season, Vigil stood at 9-2 with a 0.57 ERA with playoff games still to come.
Jake Williams (Mariposa County, Mariposa)
He’s been raking the ball around the yard similar to Ripon’s Vandermolen. After belting a pair of homers for the Grizzlies in their 16-0 victory over LeGrand, Williams went 2-for-2 in back-to-back outings against Orestimba of Newman. Mariposa won both of those games, but they were much closer (2-1 and 4-2).
SOFTBALL
Hailey Arteaga (Webb, Claremont)
While we’d need confirmation from the school for her reported .800 batting average, there’s no doubt she’s had a great season. In last week’s two 20-1 wins over Saddleback Valley Christian to end the regular season, Arteaga went 4-for-4 with three RBI, including a double and triple, in one of them and then 2-for-2 with four runs scored and two RBI in the other. In the previous week, she went 3-for-3 and 2-for-2 in two games, but already this week she “cooled” off for a 2-for-4 outing in a 11-6 season-ending CIF Southern Section playoff loss to Rancho Mirage.
Alyssa Caballero (Clovis)
She had a career high of six RBI for the game and went 3-for-4 at the plate with a home run in a 13-2 over Clovis West of Fresno.
Mia Camuso (Shasta, Redding)
A phenomenal prep career for Camuso came to an end with Shasta’s 13-4 loss to Paradise in the CIF Northern Section playoffs. Camuso went 3-for-4 in that game with a double. Considered one of the top players in her class in the state since her freshman year, the Oregon commit ended the season with a .574 average with 14 homers and 50 RBI. Her four-year career totals, however, stand out even more. All of these totals look like they’re in the neighborhood of five in the state record book: .595 batting average, 42 homers, 239 hits, 162 RBI, 190 runs and 56 doubles. Oregon is getting a great one.
Corie Evans (Taft)
Coming from a school that has had many softball state stat stars in recent years, Evans helped her team earn a co-championship with Wasco in the South Sequoia League by hitting two doubles and collecting five RBI in a 21-0 romp past Kennedy of Delano.
Noemi Farfan (Calvary Christian Academy, Chula Vista)
This sophomore’s streak of slugging a home run in four straight games came to an end but she did have five hits and drove in four runs during a 24-0 win over San Pasqual Academy of Escondido.
Beth Hammer poses for photo after throwing one of her recent no-hitters. Photo: Twitter.com.
Maddi Hackbarth (Oakdale)
We picked her sister Kindra last month as one of our players of the week and earlier this week she had a game that more than deserves some attention. In Oakdale’s 13-3 CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division III playoff win over Cordova of Rancho Cordova, Hackbarth hit three home runs and drove in five during a 13-3 win over the Lancers.
Beth Hammer (Union Mine, El Dorado)
It’s been Hammer time for the Diamondbacks with this junior in the circle. In the last game of two weeks ago, Hammer pitched a five-inning no-hitter with six strikeouts in a 15-0 romp past Galt. Then last week, two more no-hitters followed for three in a row. The first was a six-inning no-no with four strikeouts vs. Liberty Ranch of Galt while the second went a full seven innings with eight strikeouts vs. El Dorado of Placerville (2-0 win). The streak has already ended this week but Union Mine beat Manteca 3-1 in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section D3 playoffs before losing to Casa Roble of Orangevale.
Callee Heen (San Benito, Hollister)
As the Haybalers (23-3) were getting ready for the CCS D1 playoffs, Heen has been bringing heavy metal to the plate. Last week’s outings included two homers in a 8-5 victory over Monterey and then 3-for-3 with four runs scored and another homer vs. Alvarez of Salinas in a 10-2 win. Heading into this week’s games, Heen had 15 homers on the season.
Ashley Iseri (Whitney, Cerritos)
A junior small school standout, Iseri had four hits, including a double, with two RBI in a 11-2 win last week vs. Brethren Christian of Huntington Beach. From the week before, Iseri went 4-for-4 with five RBI, including two doubles and a triple, in a 6-1 triumph vs. Oxford Academy.
Halle Kyler (Granite Hills, El Cajon)
This top-level junior tossed a no-hitter with seven strikeouts and just two walks allowed in a 2-0 win vs. Steele Canyon of Spring Valley. Kyler also shined with her bat with a home run.
Ellie Magnuson (Coast Union, Cambria)
In a 14-1 win last week over Shandon, Magnuson tossed her fifth five-inning no-hitter of the season. She walked two and struck out 15. Heading into this week, she was 9-0 with 96 strikeouts in 42 innings and a 0.00 ERA.
Kate Polucha (Aliso Niguel, Aliso Niguel)
Committed to Duke, she was named by our friends at OCSidelines as their player of the week two weeks ago after going 7-for-10 with a double, two triples, a home run, five runs scored and five runs driven in during wins over nationally ranked Mission Viejo and Dana Hills of Dana Point.
Sam Mejia (Ridgeview, Bakersfield)
In a note from two weeks ago from CIF Central Section historian Bob Barnett, Mejia pitched a one-hitter with 10 strikeouts in a 3-0 win over Tehachapi that also improved Ridgeview’s league winning streak to 67 games, dating back to the last league game of 2010. That’s the longest in the section and won’t be challenged by Taft, which lost a game also two weeks ago to Wasco that broke its 58-game league win streak.
Marisa Meza (Savanna, Anaheim)
From two weeks ago, when the Rebels clinched a share of the Orange League championship with an 11-0 win over Century of Santa Ana, it was Meza who doubled and hit two home runs. Last week, Meza hit two homers during a 14-0 win over Anaheim. The Rebels have had their softball scores at times this season resemble football scores.
Madilyn Nickles (Merced)
Known more for her pitching but as a recruit she’s more known for hitting, Nickles pitched 2.1 scoreless innings against Turlock in a 10-4 last week. It was more of a stat star worthy outing, however. At the plate as Nickles went 4 for 4 with a triple, home run and seven runs batted in.
Miranda Nilson & Karlee Sparacino (Alhambra, Martinez)
In a game that saw the Bulldogs score 21 runs in the first inning and 13 in the second inning, they had tons of players that could be mentioned in the 40-1 win vs. Campolindo of Moraga. These two led the way, though, as Nilson had six hits, including a home run while driving in seven runs and Sparacino walked three times with two hits, including a home run, while driving in six runs.
Alexis Orozco (San Marcos)
Before their game on May 3 against Mission Hills of San Marcos, this sophomore had only had two games with more than two runs batted in but she exploded in the 13-0 win over the Grizzlies. She hit two home runs in a game for the second time this season while driving in a season-best eight runs.
Kiana Pancino (Edison, Huntington Beach)
With the Chargers battling for a playoff spot, this Stanford-bound pitcher went 4-0 last week with three complete games, including a 10-strikeout shutout in a 9-0 win over Marina of Huntington Beach that clinched a playoff spot.
Mila Rodriguez (Millenium, Tracy)
Yet another slugging sophomore, Rodriguez had an adventure to remember against Venture Academy of Stockton. She hit a triple and two home runs, including a grand slam, to finish with seven runs batted in during the 17-3 win for the Falcons.
Spencer Sansom (Buchanan, Clovis)
This senior had quite a week two weeks ago (see below for teammate Sienna Swain for last week). In the first game, she went 3-for-4 with three runs scored, four RBI and hit her ninth home run of the season in a 16-2 win over Clovis East. In the second game, Sansom broke the Clovis Unified home run record by hitting her 10th home. According to CIF Central Section historian Bob Barnett, she passed Amanda Scott of Clovis, who had nine home runs in 1996. Sansom also had a career high of six RBI in the second game on four hits as the Bears beat Clovis West of Fresno 16-3.
Sienna Swain (Buchanan, Clovis)
In helping Buchanan clinch the Tri-River Athletic Conference with a 21-0 win over Clovis North, Swain led the way at the plate by going 5-for-5 with two doubles and five RBI. Teammate Faith Rousey also was 4-for-4 at the plate with five RBI.
Sami Williams (Dana Hills, Dana Point)
Despite going 5 for 5 with a grand slam home run, it wasn’t enough to prevent a 9-8 loss by the Dolphins to Aliso Niguel of Aliso Viejo in South Coast League play.
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
