Softball: More SF Valley/North rankings
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Judging by this week’s SF Valley/North rankings, you might think I was paid off by the Marmonte League coaches. But how could this be true? Most of them are teachers and we all know the Governator isn’t planning to push them into the next tax bracket anytime soon.
I’m just putting that out there because I’m anticipating a possible electronic-ink tongue lashing for putting Westlake in my top 10.
What can I say? We all know pitching is the single-most critical element to a successful softball team, and the Warriors are once again one of the best teams around now that Jenna Becerra‘s broken pinky finger has mended.
Becerra, pictured above, pitched relief in Thursday’s loss against undefeated Simi Valley, but the Stanford-bound shortstop tossed a complete-game, four-hitter in the Warriors’ victory over Moorpark on Thursday. She also drove in a couple runs on three hits.
Westlake is definitely one of the top-tier teams in the region with Becerra back in the lineup and it’ll be interesting to see what the Warriors can do in the second half of league play.
With that in mind, here’s my humble opinion:
- Simi Valley (19-0, 6-0) -- Sophomore starter Amanda Oliveto has allowed one earned run in last eight games.
- Valencia (17-4, 2-0) -- Tuesday showdown between Jessica Spigner and Hart’s Destiny Rodino should be thrilling.
- Thousand Oaks (13-3, 5-1) -- Carissa Mudgett batting .380 with 15 RBIs and five homers.
- Hart (13-3, 3-0) -- Heather Zimmerman is one of the SoCal’s hidden gems.
- Camarillo (11-5, 4-0) -- Beat Rio Mesa, is Oxnard going down, too?
- Moorpark (10-5, 4-2) -- The next three games are loaded with playoff implications.
- Royal (7-8, 3-3) -- Hung tough over tortuous three-game stretch.
- Agoura (8-5, 3-3) -- Can the Chargers upset Simi Valley or TO this week?
- Westlake (7-7, 1-5) -- Nora Sobczak batting .488 with 15 runs and six RBIs.
- Oxnard (12-5, 3-1) -- A victory over Camarillo on Friday would be redeeming.
Almost, but not quite: Alemany, Burbank, Rio Mesa, Pacifica
(That’s Simi Valley shortstop Sam Fischer in the photo accompanying the rankings.)
-- Austin Knoblauch
-- Image from www.maxpreps.com