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Pinole Valley High softball team falls short in
NCS semis, loses 3-2 to Rancho Cotate in nine innings Staff Posted: 06/01/2010
09:37:15 PM PDT Updated: 06/01/2010
10:21:43 PM PDT
After clawing back into the game with
two late home runs, the Pinole Valley High softball team couldn't get the run
it needed Tuesday against No. 1 seed and host Rancho Cotate-Rohnert Park,
losing 3-2 in nine innings in a North Coast Section Division II semifinal.
No. 4 Pinole Valley (21-7) trailed 2-0
heading into the fifth inning, but Jasmyne Brice cut the lead in half with a
solo home run. One inning later, Nicole
Kuykendall added a home run of her own, belting a 3-2 pitch to tie the
score.
Caitlin Bal pitched a complete game for
the Spartans, striking out five and walking none. Kuykendall, the Alameda Contra Costa Athletic League MVP, went 3
for 3 to finish the year with a .603 batting average. NCS softball: Pinole Valley advance
Pinole Valley High's Nicole Kuykendall is hitting over .500
with five home runs this season, so it's not surprising the senior third baseman
hasn't seen many good pitches lately.
But Kuykendall likes to makes things happen. And with the No. 4
Spartans in need of a big hit against No. 12 Clayton Valley in the North Coast
Section Division II softball quarterfinals, she took a low offering from Eagles
freshman Jacee Almond and drove the ball to the right-field fence for a two-run
triple.
Those third-inning runs were all host
Pinole Valley (21-6) needed in a 5-1 win Friday at Ellerhorst Elementary.
"I don't think (the pitch) was
anywhere near the strike zone," Kuykendall
said. "I think it was two inches off the ground. I usually don't like
changeups, but I guess I liked that one."
Kuykendall's triple with two outs in the third inning was the first hit of the game. Clayton Valley (19-7) didn't record its first hit off Spartans junior Caitlin Bal until the fifth.
East Bay female athletes of the week BAY AREA
NEWS GROUP Posted: 04/22/2010
06:16:38 PM PDT SCHOOL: Pinole Valley SPORT: Softball YEAR: Senior POSITION: Catcher
Nicole Kuykendall
Alexis Martinez SCHOOL: James Logan YEAR: Sophomore THE STAT LINE: Martinez had a two-run
triple in the Colts' 4-0 Mission Valley Athletic League win over Irvington. She
then went 9 for 20 in the Reed Easter Tournament in Reno to help Logan take
second place. Martinez had four triples, eight RBIs and scored four times in
the tournament.
SPORT: Softball POSITION: Second base
Alyssa Castillo
From the Contra Costa Times
Moreau (11-1) advanced to the championship game with a 10-inning, 5-4 win over previously unbeaten Montgomery. Shelby Long's bases-loaded single with no outs brought home the winning run. Jordan Lewis had a phenomenal game for the Mariners, going 2-for-3 with a triple and a solo homer in the bottom of the sixth that tied the game at 3-3. Alyssa Castillo went the distance for Moreau, striking out 13 in the process.
MARIAH NISBET
From Contra Costa Times
DANVILLE — A second baseman with a big smile, good glove and a wicked swing ... it must be California High junior Mariah Nisbet.
Nisbet appears to love everything about softball, especially winning, and the Grizzlies prevailed for the second straight time in the powerful East Bay Athletic League, 4-2 over host San Ramon Valley on Tuesday.
Cal's ministreak comes after two straight close losses, 2-0 to Amador Valley and 3-2 to Foothill.
In addition to slugging a home run in the first inning, the muscular Nisbet made strong defensive plays in the sixth and seventh innings behind pitcher Brittany Wright, who tossed a three-hitter.
"She makes all the plays, and she can hit," Cal coach Mike Nevin said of Nisbet, "and she just loves it."
"I love winning," Nisbet said with a laugh. "It's good to finally win ... I feel that we were slow starting off (this season), but we're definitely coming around, and we're picking it up. ... And we're doing great."
Cal had 11 hits, including an extra-base blast in each of the first four innings against a solid Wolves squad that played excellent defense. Both teams left the field with 5-6 league marks and 12-9 overall records.
Nevin has a white board in the dugout, and each player gets a black dot by their name for every hard hit ball. Nisbet has the most dots this season, 19. Cal went on a dot frenzy on this day. Cal senior Krista Miller was 3-for-3 with a double, and Stefanie
SAMMY McCONVEY
Cowboys hammer big rival Foothill
Posted: 04/22/2009 09:10:36 PM PDT
LIVERMORE — The Livermore High softball team has operated with a bit of a chip on its shoulder all season.
The Cowboys knew the reputation of their main rival, Foothill, and they knew the Falcons were the ones they'd have to beat even to think about an East Bay Athletic League title.
Livermore scratched out two runs in the third inning and then broke the game open with six in the fourth to beat visiting Foothill 8-0 at Ernie Rodrigues Fields at Robertson Park in Livermore.
Livermore (15-2, 7-0 EBAL) used its usual small-ball approach to get on the board in the third.
With runners on second and third, Brittany Sabatini laid down a perfect squeeze bunt, scoring Stephanie Gilbert. When Foothill first baseman Kristy Ortiz tried to come home to get Gilbert, the ball squirted away from catcher Erica Tabler, allowing Katie Keller to score from second.
Foothill (12-5, 6-1) couldn't respond to the Cowboys' offensive barrage, sending only the minimum six batters to the plate in the final two innings. Jessica Varady pitched the first five for Livermore, and Sammy McConvey pitched the final two of the shutout.
By Matt Schwab
Staff Writer Posted: 03/31/2009 09:19:23 PM PDT Updated: 03/31/2009 10:41:42 PM PDT
LIVERMORE — Livermore High senior pitcher Jessica Varady loves the fact that the bottom of her team's batting order is just the tops.
That was evident Tuesday afternoon when the Cowboys, No. 3 ranked in the East Bay poll, had 11 hits in a 6-1 victory over No. 14 Amador Valley at Robertson Park in East Bay Athletic League softball.
Livermore's Nos. 7 and 8 hitters Megan Ramirez and Sammy McConvey both had two RBI off Amador Valley ace Haley Douglas, one of the area's better pitchers who no-hit California a week ago.
Varady, who allowed two hits in the inning, kept Amador from padding the lead, however, and the Cowboys' big bats came to life in the bottom of the inning. McConvey's clutch two-out, two-run single, driving in Hillary Munns and Ramirez, gave Livermore a 2-1 lead.
McConvey has signed with Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont.
NICOLE KUYKENDALL
Bay Area News Group Girls Athletes of the Week
Posted: 03/26/2009 07:30:56 PM PDT
Updated: 03/26/2009 09:49:13 PM PDT
· Nicole Kuykendall
SCHOOL: Pinole Valley
· SPORT: Softball
· YEAR: Junior
· POSITION: Catcher/third base
· THE STAT LINE: Kuykendall hit a two-run home run and drove in six runs as part of a 3-for-4 performance in a 15-0 nonleague victory over Dublin on March 17, and she also slammed a double in the Spartans' loss to College Park in another nonleague game on March 19.
MAXPREPS STATS (Entire State of California)
California HS State Leaders
Nicole Finished # 3 In State Batting Averages!
State Stat Stars of the Week
May 21, 2009 4:30 PM
Nicole Kuykendall (Pinole Valley, Pinole): One of the big reasons the Spartans are 21-3 and the third seed in the NCS Div. II playoffs is because of this junior, who is amongst the top sluggers in the state. Last week in an 18-8 victory over Richmond, the backstop and occasional third base girl was a perfect 5-for-5, hit her fourth home run of the season, had two doubles, five RBI and two runs scored. Coming into the playoffs, she's hitting .701 with 47 hits and 21 doubles, 43 RBI and 35 runs scored.
ARI ROACH
(LADY SHARK ALUMNI)
Hey Rob--
ALSO
Ari hit her first homerun (a grand slam) against Occidental College on March 7th and her team held on to win 5-3. She had an awesome day last Saturday in the Tucson Invitational tournament. They played two games against teams from New York and Michigan. Arianna went 8 for 8 with a couple of walks and a triple and 8 RBI's on the day . I think she batted .667 for the 3 days..She also had a diving catch which she flipped to second base for a double play as well. As of March 2nd, (last time stats were posted on her school website) she was leading the team in batting average. I believe she stills is and has raised her average. It was .324 on 3/2, so her grand slam and Tucson at bats are not included. She has played every inning so far and starts at Shortstop and bats first.
WHITNEY HUESER
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Softball Signs Two from the Class of 2009 |
Moraga, CA – Saint Mary’s Head Softball Coach Jessica Hanaseth has signed two from the 2009 recruiting class, as Whitney Heuser and Megan Smith will join the Gael squad in 2010. The two players committed during the National Letter of Intent early signing period, and are about to begin their senior seasons at their respective high schools.
“I am very excited to have Megan and Whitney join our team,” said Hanaseth. They are outstanding athletes and should make an immediate impact in our program.
Heuser, an infielder from Felton, CA, comes to Saint Mary’s from San Lorenzo Valley High School, where she put up stellar numbers for the Cougars. Three seasons into her prep career, Heuser has accumulated a .395 overall hitting percentage and .541 mark in league play. As a junior the shortstop totaled 33 hits, scoring 28 runs, while knocking in an additional 16 runs. Heuser has been named all-league, all-county, and her team MVP while playing for the Cougars.
REGINA SENA
Centre Softball Team Looks to Continue Winning Ways in 2009
2008 Centre College softball team continued the Colonels recent success winning 22 games and making it all the way to the SCAC tournament semi-finals. In 2009, Centre will look to continue winning ways while working towards a Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference championship.
The 2009 Centre softball team will lack inexperience, with only two seniors and one junior on the roster, but will compensate for the lack of experience with talent. Associate Head Coach Chris Mason said, “Despite us being a young team, we are extremely excited about the upcoming year. We might not have a lot of upperclassmen but the freshmen and sophomores on the team are willing and capable of producing an excellent effort on the field.”
Freshmen players that the coaching staff feels might have a chance to make a strong impact this year include: Regina Sena, Elizabeth Fenwick, Catelyn Teague and Cailynn West. Sena will split time with Rhule behind the plate and likely see some playing time in the outfield as well. Fenwick will step in at shortstop for the Colonels and look to solidify the infield defense. Teague will join Jones in the Colonels pitching staff. West will be asked to provide a strong bat in the middle of the order while playing mostly at first base.
