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Bringing the heat
Mid-Valley teams are loaded with pitching
It's all about the arms this year in the Mid-Valley.
From South Sutter through Yuba and over into Colusa counties, this area is loaded with softball talent — especially in the circle. The greatest hurler of them all — Sutter High's Jessica Moore — may have moved on to the Division I stage at Oregon, but it doesn't mean there aren't a host of young ladies ready to pitch their teams to the top.
Take a look at some of the top schools in the area — they all have standouts stymieing opposing batting orders:
• Lindhurst: Jordan Stanaland
• Colusa: Tiffany Friel
• River Valley: Rachel Quinn and Courtney Smith
• Live Oak: Chelsea and Courtney Souza
• Marysville: Ashton Welch and Tressa Arostegui
• Wheatland: KC Silva
• Gridley: Fraine Cox and Sheena Ruggerillo
• East Nicolaus: Amanda Taylor
• Maxwell: Allison Costa
"You could go on and on," Lindhurst coach Bill Biggs said. "There's a lot of pitchers around here."
Then there's the kicker — many of those names mentioned above are young. Stanaland, whose taking her scant ERA and stellar GPA to San Francisco State and Courtney Souza are the lone seniors from the list above. Though this season is still in its infancy, these hard-to-hit hurlers are already showing that this year belongs to them.
Welch struck out 10 Sutter batters on Tuesday in an Indian 4-1 victory and Quinn fanned 13 in the Falcons' huge win over powerhouse Elk Grove on Wednesday. Friel fired a no-hitter against Hamilton and Stanaland has allowed two earned runs in 29-plus innings pitched.
It's enough to have coaches up and down the area beaming.
"I feel really happy," Biggs said. "We're doing well, the area is doing well."
To any fan of local softball, dominance from players like Friel or Stanaland or Souza was foreshadowed last year. Then there's the type of player who steps onto the scene and blows everybody away — literally.
The Spartans' Taylor stepped into the batter's box against Winters in the opener and smashed a home run. Then in East Nic's second game she tossed a no-hitter against Pierce.
It's obviously impressive. It's becomes jaw-dropping when you hear she recently turned 14.
"She's not your typical freshman," Spartans' coach Doug Cater. "She's someone to look at for the next four years."
