Two of this week’s SoCal/NorCal players of the week are Nolan Stevens from Franklin of Elk Grove and Morgan Triguiero of Caruthers. Photos: John Hull / Elk Grove Citizen & PAGMETER.com.
For this week’s award winners, our two stops in Southern California are in Sherman Oaks and West Covina and then we head north to Elk Grove before we end up in the Central Valley town of Caruthers. For our SoCal softball honoree there was a solid candidate from the Michelle Carew Classic winning Canyon team, but the story of Kylee Magee is so compelling we’re saving it for a feature of her own.
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Note: For these honors, we 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
Nolan Stevens (Franklin, Elk Grove) Jr.
Our landing spot in search of the Northern California Baseball Player of the Week is a little less than 20 miles south of the state capitol in the city of Elk Grove.
At Franklin, we find a Mississippi State-committed 6-foot-3, 210-pound junior left-handed pitcher and first baseman who is considered a one of the top class of 2023 Major League prospects in all of California.
Last week, in a three-game sweep of cross-town Delta League rival Elk Grove, the 2021 all-state underclass pick had a big hand in getting the Wildcats to 12-3 on the season and a No. 24 spot in the newest Cal-Hi Sports rankings after sweeping the previous No. 12 Thundering Herd who were also the No. 1 team in the Sacramento Bee rankings.
In the first game, a 10-0 victory, Stevens, who according to PerfectGame.org, can hit the low 90’s with his fastball, tossed a two-hit shutout with five strikeouts and three walks. At the plate he was 2-for-2 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. In the second game, a 4-3 squeaker, Nolan slammed a two-run home run. Finally, in another close one, a 3-2 win, Stevens was 2-for-3 with a run scored.
So far this season, and heading into a Wednesday evening matchup with crosstown Cosumnes Oaks in which it appears he will pitch, Stevens was 3-0 with a 0.91 ERA and 29 strikeouts with 10 walks in 23 innings pitched.
At the plate, Nolan was tied for the team lead with a .395 batting average, he had the team’s lone home run, led the Wildcats with six doubles and 16 RBI and he had scored nine runs.
Jack Gurevitch has been one of the top hitters in the last two seasons in one of the state’s top leagues. Photo: PaliPost.com.
Cal-Hi Sports Southern California
Baseball Player of the Week
Jack Gurevitch (Notre Dame, Sherman Oaks) Sr.
When Jack played for the SoCal Giants recently, with his size and power hitting from the left side and with his stance, it was a reminder of Brandon Belt swinging for big shots for the San Francisco Giants.
With the San Fernando Valley neighborhood of Sherman Oaks being where Jack is from, however, he’s probably a Dodger fan. At Notre Dame, we find a senior first baseman who not only had a hand in helping the Knights move up five spots this week to No. 15 in the most recent Cal-Hi Sports state rankings, but he also helped his coach achieve a milestone.
Last week, in a three-game sweep of Mission League rival St. Francis of La Canada, Gurevitch turned on the switch to go 6-for-12 with two doubles, a walk, five RBI and three runs scored for the three games combined.
In the second of the three wins, a 6-1 victory in the milestone game, Gurevitch was 3-for-4 with a run scored. The Knights’ win was career victory No. 500 for veteran head coach Tom Dill since he took the Knights’ helm for the 1993 season.
So far this season for the 15-4-1 Knights, Gurevitch was second on the team with a .397 batting average but led the team with 27 hits and 23 RBI, and was second with two home runs and 19 runs scored.
Jack was solid for Notre Dame as a junior as well. He hit .394 with four home runs, seven doubles, 25 RBI and 19 runs scored. He has signed with the University of San Diego.
Cal-Hi Sports Northern California
Softball Player of the Week
Morgan Trigueiro (Caruthers) Jr.
Just over 15 miles south of Fresno off Highway 41 is where we find our Northern California Softball Player of the Week, and because we’re visiting Caruthers in the CIF Central Section we’ll remind readers once again that the Central Section is considered Northern California for this feature and all our weekly Player of the Week features for girls and boys.
We’ve covered Trigueiro before and even seen her play in person, but that was on the hardwood where Morgan is one of the top players in the Central Section. But this is for softball where Trigueiro also shines on the field.
The Blue Raiders have had an up and down season and were 6-6 entering this season, and in fact they were only 1-2 last week, but in the game they did win, Morgan came up big in the plate and at the circle in a 12-2 win over Washington Union of Easton. At the plate, she went 4-for-4 with six RBI and from the circle Trigueiro tossed a three-hitter.
Morgan was hitting .318 on the season and she’s had her challenges in the circle, but when you’re the top girls athlete in a small town sometimes you have to step up to new challenges and this is Trigueiro’s first varsity softball season.
As a basketball player, Morgan led the team in scoring at 18.6 points per game and helped lead the Blue Raiders to a 28-4 season, a Central Section Division III championship, and the second round of the CIF Division III state playoffs before they bowed out to Menlo of Atherton.
On a final note, Trigueiro is not just a two-sport star but a three-sport standout. She was one of the top players with 115 kills on a 28-6 Blue Raiders volleyball team that made it to the second round of the Central Section Division IV playoffs.
Cal-Hi Sports Southern California
Softball Player of the Week
Joie Economides (South Hills, West Covina) Soph.
For our Southern California Softball Player of the Week honor, we head around 15 miles due east on Interstate 10 of downtown Los Angeles to the city of West Covina. At South Hills is where we find a sophomore first-sacker who has had a huge role in a 14-game winning streak after the Huskies lost two close heartbreakers to begin the season.
Last week, in a 16-1 victory over nearby Diamond Bar, Joie was an absolute joy for South Hills fans after she blasted three home runs and had eight RBI and four runs scored.
In two games last Saturday, Economides was 2-for-3 with a double and three RBI in a 4-1 victory over California of Whittier, and then Joie went 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI and a run scored in a 9-0 whitewash of Bishop Amat of La Puente.
So far this season, Economides was hitting .471 with six home runs, two triples, five doubles, 28 RBI and 16 runs scored. The six home runs was tied for the No. 20 reported mark in the state.
On a humorous note, the first time we wrote down Joie’s name as a nominee for this week we had it in the baseball column instead of softball. She could probably hit a baseball just as far, though.
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
