Diamond kings, queens

Winning a championship can often bring postseason accolades, and it's no different when it comes to the Northern Section.

After leading their teams to a pair championship banners this season, Sutter High pitcher Jolene Graham and East Nicolaus High coach Dave Deniz capped off their impressive performances by being named Northern Section softball Player of the Year and baseball Coach of the Year by the section's selection committee.

"Considering all the good coaches in the section, it's pretty humbling," said Deniz, who guided the Spartans to a 24-3 record on their way to the Division IV crown and had three of his players selected to the team. "But it's more of a testament to the kids. No one thought we would do a whole lot, but I was screaming from the mountain tops that we were going to have a good year."

In all, seven local baseball and four local softball players were named to the all-section team.

Leading the way was Graham, who along with being named Player of the Year was also named to the first team after leading the Huskies to their third consecutive section title.

Second-team selections included Colusa pitcher Tiffany Friel, Sutter second baseman Courtney Gravel and Live Oak shortstop Mercedez Duenas, who made the team as a utility player.

First-team selections in baseball included Maxwell High shortstop Steven Perry and first baseman Tyler Wells and East Nicolaus pitcher John Kukuruda.

Second-team picks included East Nicolaus first baseman Dylan Culp and shortstop Scotty Lehman, Pierce pitcher Jake Driver and Maxwell's James Bowen as a utility player.

"We had a plan and stuck to it," Deniz said. "We had a lot of the kids for four years and they knew what to expect. They earned everything they got and it was a nice way to cap everything off."