Sophomore pitcher Stetson Sherman of Diamond Bar (left) reacts during no-hitter he pitched at Angels Stadium. At right is Aniyah Gordon from South High of Bakersfield. Photos: Steven Park / SportsSceneTV.net & sportsrecruits.com.
We check out both hitting and pitching leader lists in coming up with each week’s honorees and we also get a few nominations that are sent in each week. It’s usually a mix of both, but this time we went with two pitchers for baseball and two sluggers for softball. The players are from Novato and Bakersfield in Northern California and Diamond Bar and Vista for Southern Californa.
We hope you enjoy this free post on CalHiSports.com. All regular season State TOP 35 or State TOP 25 rankings for baseball/softball will be Gold Club posts plus state record updates and state stat stars. You can sign up today to get all of our Gold Club content right now at just $4.99 for per month. Three-month sub also is offered. For details, CLICK HERE.
CHECK OUT CALGAMESWANTED.COM
Created for Coaches by Coaches for California Varsity High School Head Coaches and Athletic Directors, Start building your schedule with CalGamesWanted.com.
User friendly to take the stress out of scheduling.
Notes: For these honors, we 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
Aniyah Gordon (South, Bakersfield) Sr.
We begin this week at a school that is indeed south of Bakersfield located to the east off the White Lane exit on Highway 99. It’s about as south as one can get to technically be a NorCal player of the week, but that’s how we’ve done it for all the years of doing Cal-Hi Sports and that’s with the entire CIF Central Section in the north.
It’s at South High where Gordon has been mashing the ball at the plate particularly well in the last few weeks. A player who was on the Bakersfield Californian honors teams the past two seasons, Gordon began this week hitting .659 on the season with eight homers and 34 RBI.
In her two games last week, Aniyah started by going 3-for-4 with two doubles, a homer and four RBI to lead the Spartans past Woodlake, 7-3. Later in the week, Gordon stayed hot with another homer, five RBI and finished 2-for-3 in a 15-3 win for South against Foothill of Bakersfield.
It is impossible, however, not to say that Aniyah’s huge game to close the previous week was another reason we decided to honor her this week. That game in a win vs Porterville when she clobbered three homers, drove in eight runs and ended 5-for-5.
Gordon is not just a power hitter for the 9-3 Spartans, either. She does some pitching and was described as a “dominant” shortstop when she recently committed to Norfolk University. Aniyah and her team are on spring break this week, but hot hitters like her often would rather keep on swinging.
Novato’s J.P. Harmon has given up two hits with 17 strikeouts and no runs in his last 11 innings of pitching. Photo: perfectgame.org.
Cal-Hi Sports Northern California
Baseball Player of the Week
J.P. Harmon (Novato) Sr.
We venture over the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco into Marin County and head up Highway 101 to the city of Novato to find our NorCal baseball honoree. Trust us, MLB scouts know the route well. Harmon is clearly one of the top MLB prospects in the region this season and has signed with Ole Miss.
A 6-foot-4, 200-pound right-hander with consistent 90 to 92 mph velocity on his pitches, Harmon is getting a shout out this week even though we generally don’t like to do it after an extremely one-sided score for a team. He’s just been having a stellar season in general so far and this is the week we’re doing it.
The game in question was a 25-1 win by the Hornets last week over Terra Linda of San Rafael. Harmon pitched four innings, gave up one hit and struck out nine. He also enjoyed himself with bat in hand, going 4-for-4 with a double and five RBI.
In the previous week, J.P. was dealing in leading Novato to a 2-0 win against its arch-rival from San Marin of Novato. He went the distance in throwing a one-hitter and struck out eight.
Novato and Harmon will be playing this week (beginning Tuesday) at the Boras Classic for top NorCal teams in Sacramento. He starts the week with a 4-0 record as a pitcher so far this season with 39 strikeouts in 24 innings and get this: a 0.00 ERA.
Cal-Hi Sports Southern California
Baseball Player of the Week
Stetson Sherman (Diamond Bar) Soph.
For our SoCal baseball honoree, instead of going to the school to find him we’re going to the home of the Los Angeles Angels at Angels Stadium. It’s at the Big A where Diamond Bar High’s Sherman got the thrill of a lifetime by throwing a no-hitter in a MLB stadium. He did it in leading the Brahmas past Knight of Palmdale, 7-0, in a non-league game.
According to reporting from SportsSceneTV.net, Sherman wasn’t able to play in last year’s game that Diamond Bar played at Angels Stadium. He made up for it with a super-efficient performance. He only needed 70 pitches for the 21 outs and only missed a perfect game with a walk. He also struck out eight batters.
Diamond Bar head coach Damien Muir also noted to SportsSceneTV.net that this wasn’t the first no-hitter this season by a Brahmas’ pitcher. Senior Jacob Smith had one himself a few weeks ago and it was Smith who was behind the plate catching for Sherman’s no-hitter.
Entering this week’s games for the Brahmas, Sherman has compiled a 3-1 record on the mound with a 2.50 ERA plus 25 strikeouts in 28 innings. He also has had a two-hitter with seven strikeouts over six innings in another win, which was against Arroyo of El Monte.
Vista High’s Maddie Valle played last summer for an OC Batbuster travel ball team. Photo: Instagram.com.
Cal-Hi Sports Southern California
Softball Player of the Week
Maddie Valle (Vista) Jr.
For our final stop this week, we head to the North County of the CIF San Diego Section at a school we know most for its football success in the late 1970s and into the 1990s and beyond when it was led by legendary head coach Dick Haines. It’s at Vista where we find Maddie, a slugger who was the school’s offensive player of the year last season with a slash line of .433 batting average/1.048 OPS/.514 OBP/.533 SLG.
Valle, who played for the OC Batbusters Delgado travel ball squad last summer, is off to an even better start this season. In the game from last week that caught our eye, she led the Panthers in a 26-6 slugfest win over Orange Glen of Escondido. Maddie ended the game 5-for-5 with two doubles, two homers and eight RBI.
In her games so far this season (and not including any from Monday of this week), Valle was shown batting .708 on 17 hits in 24 at-bats. She also sat at five homers and 16 RBI. The batting average is among the top reported marks in the state and the home runs is among the best in the CIF San Diego Section.
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
