Two of this week’s honorees are Talan Larson from Servite of Anaheim and McKenzie Ortega from Pinole Valley of Pinole. Photos: X.com & sportsrecruits.com.
For our second week of honoring baseball and softball players this season, we don’t have any records to track for the Cal-Hi Sports Online Record Book, which is one of the purposes of this feature. However, there was no shortage of some hidden gems, a couple of diamonds in the rough, and even a former child star on TV, and finding players that might only get local recognition is the other purpose of the feature. This week we visit Easton (near Fresno) and Pinole in Northern California, and in Southern California the stops are in Anaheim and Moorpark.
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Notes: For these honors, we also consider CIF Central Section players for Northern California. To nominate anyone, email markjtennis@gmail.com.
Cal-Hi Sports Northern California
Softball Player of the Week
McKenzie Ortega (Pinole Valley, Pinole) Jr.
The search for the Northern California Softball Player of the Week takes us to the West Contra Costa County portion of the CIF North Coast Section and we arrive in Pinole and Pinole Valley High to honor this week’s award winner.
Last week, in a 5-inning 21-0 shellacking of St. Patrick-St. Vincent of Vallejo that got the Spartans to 5-1 overall and 3-0 in the Tri-County Athletic League – Rock Division, Ortega pitched a no-hitter with only a walk separating her from a perfect game, and she struck out 13 of the 16 batters she faced. In one of the innings, she had what is called in baseball and softball an immaculate inning and that means she threw nine pitches and all were strikes for the three outs. With bat in hand, McKenzie also was 2-for-2 with a walk, she was hit by a pitch, and she drove in a run and scored four herself.
Earlier in the week, Ortega got roughed up a bit in a 10-7 loss to Acalanes of Lafayette, but she still managed to get six strikeouts and as a batter she had two hits and scored two runs.
For the season, Ortega is at a very respectable 1.62 ERA and she’s got the decision in every game to go 5-1 with 61 strikeouts and only six walks in 39 innings pitched.
In 12 innings this season, Trey Morris has 34 strikeouts. He’s not far removed (only a couple of batters) from getting every out for his team on a strikeout. Photo: WUHS_Baseball / X.com.
Cal-Hi Sports Northern California
Baseball Player of the Week
Trey Morris (Washington, Easton) Sr.
The CIF Central Section or “The Valley” as the locals like to affectionately call the CIF Central Section is where we head in search of the Northern California Baseball Player of the Week, and whenever we visit that part of the state we like to remind readers that for all state player of the week features for all sports, boys and girls, the Central Section is considered Northern California. It has been that way for all 40-plus years we’ve been doing Cal-Hi Sports.
Easton is our destination, and it’s a little less than 10 miles south of downtown Fresno off Highway 41 at Washington Union High where we find this week’s award winner, who now gets a statewide honor to go with local recognition.
Morris has been itching to do some pitching, and for that matter some batting as well, because he only pitched in one game last year due to injury. Now, after helping Washington Union get off to an 8-0 start this season, it’s the Panthers’ opponents that are scratching their heads trying to hit his fastball when he’s on the mound or hoping to get one by him when he has a bat in hand, and last week was a perfect example.
Last Tuesday, Morris played first base in an 8-3 victory over Fresno Hoover and he was 3-for-4 with a home run, double, five RBI and three runs scored. Trey didn’t pitch on Wednesday and Yosemite of Oakhurst didn’t really want to pitch to him except when they plunked him in one of his at-bats. They also walked him and he had a sacrifice fly, but in his one official at-bat he blasted a three-run home run and that was the difference in a 6-5 victory.
You guessed it. On Friday, the Panthers’ 6-foot-2, 220-pound left-hander pitched, and all he did was throw a one-hitter, and his blistering 91-mile per hour fastball blew away 14 batters in an 11-0 win over Mendota.
So far this season the Oregon State-committed Morris is 2-0 in three appearances as a pitcher with a 0.58 ERA and get this: Trey has blown away 34 of the 40 batters he’s faced in only 12 innings pitched.
If that’s not enough, Morris is also the leading hitter for Washington Union. He’s batting an even .500 with three home runs, four doubles, 14 RBI and 11 runs scored.
Cal-Hi Sports Southern California
Baseball Player of the Week
Talan Larson (Servite, Anaheim) Sr.
Orange County is our destination in search of the Southern California Baseball Player of the Week and we land just north of and on the other side of the I-5 from Disneyland in Anaheim at Servite High.
It’s at Servite where we find a lanky 6-foot-4 righthanded pitcher who came oh so close to perfection, but even so his most recent performance is more than worthy of the accolades that go with winning a statewide honor to go with local kudos.
Last Saturday, in a 6-0 victory over host Dana Hills of Dana Point that improved Servite to 7-1 this season, Talan tossed a no-hitter with five strikeouts and no walks.
Larson retired the first 16 batters but with one out in the sixth the Friars’ ace plunked one of the Dolphins to break up the perfect game.
Larson, who reports on his X/Twitter handle to have a 3.4 GPA, is currently uncommitted but according to perfectgame.org he has interest from Fresno State, BYU, San Diego, San Diego State, Long Beach State and UC Irvine.
Rylie Cregut of Moorpark is off to a great start for her high school softball career. Photo: Moorpark HS Athletics / MaxPreps.com.
Cal-Hi Sports Southern California
Softball Player of the Week
Rylie Cregut (Moorpark) Fr.
To find the Southern California Softball Player of the Week, we head to Ventura County and land not far from where highways 118 and 23 intersect in Moorpark at Moorpark High.
We’ve covered multi-sport stars but in Rylie we have someone who is used to having the spotlight shined on her, but until recently it hasn’t been on the softball diamond, but more on that after we chronicle the achievements that garnered Cregut a statewide honor to go with lots of props and pictures in the Moorpark Diamond Express.
Last week, in a 7-0 victory over Buena of Ventura, Cregut (pronounced craig-you) was 2-for-2 with both hits going out of the park for home runs. She also had a walk, drove in five runs and scored twice.
It isn’t the first time Cregut has put up big numbers so far for the 5-2 Musketeers. Three weeks ago in a lopsided win over Santa Barbara, Rylie had a home run, double, five RBI and three runs scored. In an early season rout of Golden Valley (Santa Clarita), Cregut had a grand slam and scored three times.
So far this season, Rylie is hitting for a .435 batting average with six home runs, two doubles, 20 RBI and 11 runs scored. She has a very robust 1.304 slugging percentage. The six home runs is tied for the No. 4 mark in the state and the CIF Southern Section, but Cregut has done it in fewer games and at-bats than the other four players that have six homers this season. The 20 RBI is tied for the No. 12 reported mark in the state and once again in fewer at-bats than the others with 20 knocked in.
In the beginning of the write-up, we mentioned Cregut is used to being in the spotlight, and although she is a rising star as a slugging freshman infielder, the previous spotlights shining on her were in front of a television camera. Rylie and her twin sister Baylie were child actresses and starred in a television show called Raising Hope from 2011 to 2014 on FOX. They both have other acting credits as well. Baylie doesn’t play softball, in case you’re wondering, at least she isn’t on Moorpark’s roster.
Right now, Rylie is raising the hopes of the Musketeers’ softball fans for a winning season and so far in her young career Cregut is producing.
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
