PAL all-league baseball honors, teams released

Menlo-Atherton’s Jordan Paroubeck, who was named Bay Division Manager of the Year, said there were only five players, total, nominated for the Player the Year award.

“It was close,” Paroubeck said. “Davis’ impact on the field (was the difference). He came up in the clutch moments against the better arms (in the division) and he always rose to the occasion.”

The Pitcher of the Year award was a race between two players — both from M-A. In addition to Zaharais, teammate Harrison Long was also nominated and he certainly had the numbers to back it up.

But in the end, there was too much talent in the University of Texas-bound Zaharias to deny him the honor.

“We all thought Harrison was going to get it,” Paroubeck said.

Long led the team with a 6-0 record in a team-high 14 appearances, posting a 1.62 ERA, which also led the team.

But Zaharias, who was 3-1 in 11 appearances, was dominant as he closes in on returning to the top of his game after coming off elbow surgery in November.

“It was kind of rehab starts in the beginning (of the season) and really inning restrictive,” Paroubeck said.

But then he had 16 strikeouts in six innings in a 2-0 win over Half Moon Bay. He followed that with a 17-strikeout performance in a complete-game, 5-0 win over Capuchino. His next outing, a 9-8 non-league loss to St. Francis, he struck out 13 in five innings.

He finished the season with 95 strikeouts against just 22 walks.

“The strikeout-to-walk ratio was so video game-like, [Pitcher of the Year award] couldn’t go to anyone else,” Paroubeck said.

Unlike the Bay Division, the Ocean Division’s main honors were split. Sacred Heart Prep, the division champion, had senior catcher Mason Chetcuti and sophomore pitcher Devin Saltzgaber earned Player and Pitcher of the Year honors, respectively.

But Chetcuti shared it with Menlo’s Colin Dhaliwal, while Hillsdale’s Nick Strezo joined Saltzgaber.

Chetcuti was, arguably, the heart and soul of the Gators. He led the team in batting average (.364) and hits (32), and was second on the team in RBIs (18).

Dhaliwal was one of the better two-way players in the Ocean Division. When he wasn’t batting .400, he posted a 1.72 ERA.

SHP’s Sean McMillan, who was named Ocean Division Manager of the Year, said he was pleasantly surprised with Chetcuti’s selection.

“If anything, I think Dhaliwal maybe deserved it more,” McMillan admitted. “But looking at what Mason was doing behind the plate, it was cool to see him get the votes.”

Saltzgaber and Strezo were two of the best pitchers in all of the PAL. Saltzgaber ended the regular season a perfect 11-0 with a 0.69 ERA. Strezo was equally as impressive. The senior went 7-2 during the regular season, posting an ERA of 0.88 and throwing eight complete games.

McMillan said he was a bit surprised Saltzgaber had to share the pitching award, but at the end of the day, he believed Strezo was equally deserving.

“I went in there (to the post-season coaches’ meeting) thinking it was a slam dunk (for Saltzgaber),” McMillan said. “But they had a great argument for Strezo. He did everything you want from a pitcher of the year. I see why they gave Strezo the nod, too.”

In the Lake Division, the two main awards were split, with division champion Priory earning Pitcher of the Year honors. Ronin Park went a Lake-best 6-1 in 14 appearances this season, with a 2.23 ERA in 47 innings pitched.

Additionally, Priory manager Kyle Barret, a 2014 Carlmont graduate, was named Lake Manager of the Year after leading the Panthers to an undefeated division title and the school’s first-ever Central Coast Section tournament win, 5-1 over Thomas More in the first round of the Division VI bracket.

The Lake Division Player of the Years, Sam Young, was the definition of a two-way threat. He batted a robust .514, finishing behind Jefferson’s Tyler Louie as Lake Division batting champ, walking 11 times and striking out just twice.

On the mound, he pitched to a minuscule ERA of 0.74, striking out 79 and walking 22 in 38 innings of work.

To see the complete list of all-league teams, go to smcoe.org; click the “three line” button in the upper right corner, choose “about the Peninsula Athletic League.” Scroll down to “current league information” and then choose the “all league teams” button.

Serra all-league honors

The Padres had a handful of players selected to the West Catholic Athletic League various all-league squads.

But only Josiah Rodriguez earned a first-team nod. A junior first baseman, 11 of Rodriguez’s 22 hits went for extra bases, including nine doubles and a pair of home runs. He also drove in a team-high 20 runs.

Outfielder Sammy Rivas earned a second-team selection. He tied for the team lead in RBIs with 20 and was one of only eight players to appear in 20 or more games as the injury bug hit the Padres hard this season.

Five other Padres were honorable mentions: Will Bordin, Ben Cleary, Jake Downing, Ian Josephson, Davis Minton.

Regular season and WCAL tournament champion Valley Christian swept the league’s two major awards. PJ Moutzouridis was named WCAL MVP, while teammate Michael Castaneda was named Pitcher of the Year.

The full all-league list can be found at WCALsports.org.