Stiff competition for PAL softball honors

“The PAL Bay is one of the toughest. You can see how crazy it was this year,” said Hillsdale head coach Nick Dykes. “A lot of great players.”

That thinking extended to the player of the year conversation and it came down to three players: Hillsdale senior shortstop Claire Shelton, Carlmont senior second baseman Izzy Won and Capuchino junior catcher Avery Montroni.

After the Bay Division’s eight coaches voted, the decision was for Shelton and Won to share Player of the Year honors.

“Those were definitely three of the top players in the league and there is a lot more talent,” Dykes said. “It was a split vote — 3-3-2. I don’t think anyone was surprised by how close the voting was.”

Shelton, a slick fielding shortstop, batted cleanup for the Knights this season, finishing third in the division with a .482 batting average. Her 40 hits was just one behind division leader Rae D’Amato of Aragon, but Shelton was first in the Bay in RBIs with 38. She had 16 extra-base hits — including nine doubles, two triples and four home runs. She had an OPS of 1.296, second only to Montroni.

Won, a steady second baseman, was among the most consistent hitters in the division, finishing sixth in batting at .467. She was third in RBIs with 24, fifth in runs scored with 25 and sixth in hits with 35. She had OPS of 1.220.

Montroni, a slugging catcher who helped guide the Mustangs to their first CCS title since 2011, finished second in batting average at .488, led the Bay Division with 10 home runs and had a division-leading OPS of 1.630.

When it came time to decide on the Bay’s top pitchers, two names came to the fore: Hillsdale’s Lexi Kuka and Capuchino’ Lola Sierra. In the end, Kuka edged Sierra in the voting to claim Pitcher of the Year honors.

Kuka was first in the division in wins, finishing the season 18-4 and pitching in 22 of 28 games this season. She led the Bay in ERA at 1.42 in 128 1/3 innings and was second in strikeouts with 151 — Sierra led that statistic with 162.

“Lola was definitely in the conversation, as well. … There was some chatter about some others, but those were the clear-cut top 2,” Dykes said. “Lexi had the stat edge, just a little bit, across the board.”

The PAL also chose a Freshman of the Year, with Woodside’s Caroline Ong taking home the honor. Ong batted .346 for the season, collecting nine doubles, 13 RBIs and scoring 16 runs.

In the Ocean Division, the choice for Player of the Year was much more cut and dry as Mills freshman shortstop Jazzy Maske garnered the award.

And there didn’t seem to be too much debate.

“I walked into the meeting and everybody was already raving about her stats,” said Mills head coach Michelle Beauchemin. “I think the decision was done before I even walked in.”

Hard to argue as the first-year leadoff hitter helped the Vikings to the 2024 Ocean Division crown, their third Ocean title since 2019. She batted an even .500 for the season and was third in hits with 31, just behind South City’s Angelina Rogers, who had 34.

Maske had 14 extra-base hits with eight doubles, three triples and a division-leading four homers. She had 21 RBIs, was first in the Ocean in runs scored with 40, stole 12 bases and had an OPS of 1.495.

Beauchemin said she was aware of Maske as both were involved with Millbrae softball. She coached Maske a few times during the club season, but really just remembered seeing the work she put in.

“I remember seeing her out there with her dad, just taking grounders,” Beauchemin said. “She just works all day long.”

There was a little more discussion about the Pitcher of the Year, with Menlo-Atherton senior Dani Koo earning the nod. Koo went 7-4 for the year as the Bears finished second in the standings. Koo posted an ERA of 3.92, was first in innings pitched with 66 and tied for first in strikeouts with 47.

“They were talking a lot about (Mills pitcher) Kalia Woo. … Kalia was neck and neck with Dani,” Beauchemin said. “But when we were going back and forth on stats … Dani came out just a little higher.”

The Ocean Division Freshman of the Year honor went to Half Moon Bay’s Indie Glafkides, mostly for her bat, but she also helped the Cougars to a third-place finish in the division with her work in the pitcher’s circle, as well.

Offensively, Glafkides batted .375. Of her 15 his, six went for extra bases — four doubles, a triple and a home run — and she drove in nine runs. In the circle, she pitched 56 innings, third-most in the division. She posted an ERA of 3.62 and was fourth in the division in strikeouts with 44.

Three Tigers and a Bear make first-team all-league in WBAL

While Notre Dame-San Jose’s Avery Provenzano was named West Bay Athletic League Player of the Year and the Pitcher of the Year honor went to King’s Academy’s Katia Nesper, Notre Dame-Belmont and Mercy had players named to the first team.

NDB’s Skylar Loo had a monster year at the plate, helping lead the Tigers to a second-place finish in the WBAL standings, behind King’s Academy.

Loo led the Tigers in batting average (.427), hits (32), home runs (6) and RBIs, where her 31 were good for second, overall, in the WBAL. She also added nine doubles and four triples.

Joining her on the first-team were teammates Malaina Alifano and Alli Lui. Alifano batted .327, with 14 RBIs and nine stolen bases. Lui excelled at the plate and in the pitcher’s circle for the Tigers. She batted .343 while picking up 10 wins in the circle and posting a 2.85 ERA. She finished with 130 strikeouts, good for fourth in the WBAL.

Mercy’s Jazlyn Villavicencio was also selected to the first team. Another two-way player, Villavicencio gave opposing teams problems at the plate and in the circle. She batted .368 on the season, with 21 runs scored and eight RBIs.

In the circle, she was a workhorse, throwing the most innings in the WBAL with 124. She was third in strikeouts with 140 and posted an ERA of 3.67.