One difficult task that won’t have to be done at the end of this short, surreal season is the probable choice that would have had to be made between Norco’s Sarah Willis and Foothill Pleasanton’s Nicole May for Ms. Softball Player of the Year. Their teams are No. 2 and No. 3 in final rankings. Photos: ExtraInningSoftball.com.
As is another of our traditions, we have a final & expanded version of rankings for California’s best softball teams at the close of the season. That unfortunately became official last Friday with spring sports cancelled for the duration of the school year due to the Coronavirus. How hard is it to rank some teams that might have only played once? It just had to be done. Unbeaten Arizona TOC champion Los Alamitos finishes on top, but there will be no State Team of the Year and we don’t think the Griffins should claim anything else beyond a final ranking. We also made a concerted effort to mention as many seniors as we can from the hard-hit Class of 2020.
This is a full post for our Gold Club members only. We will still have a mix of premium and free softball content for the rest of the regular school year and into the summer, including Senior Salutes and updated state records. We’re in our 41st year of covering California high schools in football, boys & girls basketball, baseball and softball. If you’re not a member, CLICK HERE.
To check out our archives of final softball state rankings for 2013 through 2019 seasons, CLICK HERE.
FINAL, EXPANDED SOFTBALL
STATE TOP 40 RANKINGS
(Previous rank in parentheses)
(After all games of shortened 2020 season)
(Contributing: Orange County correspondent Chuck Nan & Northern California correspondent Daniel Poulter)
1. (1) Los Alamitos 10-0
The Griffins were on their way to one of those magical seasons before the tragic pandemic halted everything. The Griffins were a perfect 10-0 and the No. 1 ranked team in the country. Now they have to ask “What if?” Momentum was at its highest after the Griffins swept through the competition at the rugged and prestigious “Tournament of Champions” in Arizona. This included victories versus Santiago (Corona), Villa Park and Crescenta Valley (La Crescenta). Other victims included Cypress and Bullard (Fresno), twice. Senior Jaime Sellers started with a .500 batting average and three home runs. Ali Belarde (.344) and Cray Robbins (.400) were part of a potent offense that slugged 19 home runs in 10 contests. Tyler Denhart was off to another dominant season in the circle. She was 6-0 with a 2.55 ERA. Other graduating seniors include: Alexandra Riddle and Bailey Taylor. Getting a final No. 1 ranking for the state is something, but a third of the season or much less for many teams just isn’t close to enough for there to be a State Team of the Year.
