PAL softball talent honored

Two sophomores were named Co-Players of the Year — Hillsdale pitcher and cleanup hitter Lola Jones, and Aragon shortstop Taylor Workman. Because Aragon finished sixth out of the seven teams in the Bay Division with a 5-9 record, Workman didn’t have a lot of opportunities to drive in runs or score herself. But she was the best in the Bay in several other categories, leading the way in batting average (.597), slugging (1.069), on-base (.674) and OPS (1.793).

Jones was one of the best two-way players in the PAL and these honors were decided before she helped lead the Knights to the Central Coast Section Division II and Nor Cal Division III championships. She tied for second in wins with 15 in the pitcher’s circle, was second in strikeouts with 173 and her ERA of 2.01 was fourth-best in the division. Offensively, she batted .282 with a team-high 21 RBIs.

The Pitcher of the Year was also a shared honor between Capuchino senior Lola Sierra and King’s Academy junior Katia Nesper. Only Woodside’s Hannah Walker and Jones threw more innings than Sierra, who finished with 135 2/3 innings pitched with an ERA of 2.27, finishing with a record of 15-6. She was fourth in strikeouts with 129 and helped the Mustangs to the Bay Division championship.

Nesper was used judiciously through the high school season as she tries to navigate club and high school ball on her way to Northwestern University. In 18 appearances this season, Nesper went 16-2 with 13 complete games and a minuscule 0.33 ERA. She struck out a whopping 249 batters while posting three n0-hitters and one perfect game.

Of the four players for Player and Pitcher of the year honors, three of them — Jones, Sierra and Nesper — could have easily earned either award.

Gutierrez was a no-brainer for the Freshman of the Year award because she looks to be a burgeoning star, no pun intended. She was sixth in batting average at .438, finishing with 15 extra-base hits including six home runs. She was second in RBIs with 32, two behind leader and teammate Avery Motroni, who had 34. Gutierrez was also second in runs scored, finishing with 36. San Mateo’s Alice Han led the way with 38.

In the Ocean Division, the major awards were much more cut and dry, with Notre Dame-Belmon, which finished as Ocean Division as co-champs with Mills, won all Player, Pitcher and Freshman of the year honors. Hailey Truong, a rising senior, was named Player of the Year. Allison Lui, who capped a prolific four-year starting career, was named Pitcher of the Year, while Eliana Crespin earned the Freshman of the Year honor.

Truong batted .453 from the Tigers’ leadoff spot, collecting 12 doubles, six triples and two home runs. She led the Tigers with 26 RBIs and scored 42 times, second-best in the division.

Lui capped her high school career with her best season. She compiled a 14-2 record in 22 appearances, posting an ERA of 0.65, with 170 strikeouts against 10 walks — all career bests.

In her four-year career, Lui was 45-16 with an ERA of 1.99 with 513 strikeouts.

Crespin, in her first year at the high school level, batted .343 with 17 RBIs.

In the Lake Division, it was a freshman who won Player of the Year honors. South City’s Madyson Jade Quintanilla earned the division’ top honor after helping lead the Warriors to their first CCS appearance since 2018. Quintanilla led her team in every hitting category: she batted .649, collecting 50 hits on the year. She had a PAL-leading eight home runs to go along with 11 doubles and seven triples. She had 41 RBis and scored a whopping 77 runs as the Warriors averaged more than 10 runs per game.

And to cap off her numbers, she had an OPS of just 2, finishing at 1.997.

Notre Dame-San Jose, the Lake Division winner, took home Pitcher of the Year and Freshman of the Year honors. Anya Shah, a freshman, took the Pitcher of the Year award after she went 11-2 in 18 appearances, compiling an ERA of 1.44. In 97 innings pitched, she struck out 168 and walked only seven.

U’ilani Wells was named Freshman of the Year. She was third on the team in batting average at .423, with 22 hits and 12 RBIs and had an OPS of 1.127.

For the complete PAL All-League softball list, go to smcoe.org, click on the “Peninsula Athletic League” button and scroll down to “Current League Information.”