Fifteen Mid-Valley area standouts are named all-section

The talent was rich and the Mid-Valley was rewarded.

The Northern Section recognized the depth of the Mid-Valley area by naming seven baseball players and eight softball players to its all-section team.

And to no one's surprise, Jessica Moore was named section MVP.

The Sutter High senior hurler, soon to become a Duck at University of Oregon, was arguably the most dominant pitcher the Northern Section has ever seen.

The unbelievable numbers are endless, but here are a few: She went 34-0 in her senior season — 33 of those wins were complete games, 29 of those were shutouts and 18 of those were no-hitters. Not to mention obliterating the section record in strikeouts with 504 this year.

In her career, she tossed 31 no-hitters and still managed to keep her batting average well over .400.

She did have help on the way to the team's undefeated year and Division IV section title, however.

Teammates Jolene Graham (catcher) and Courtney Gravel (second base) were named to the first team, while Jackie Sizemore (third base) was named to the second team.

Graham finished the season with a .528 batting average, recorded 56 hits, 38 RBIs and scored 35 runs, while Gravel hit .530, tallied 62 hits, 24 RBIs and 44 runs. Sizemore hit .438, recorded 56 hits, 44 runs and 15 RBIs.

Also named to the first team was Laura Wells of Maxwell.

The sophomore hit .662, finished with 47 hits, 37 RBIs, 39 runs, 46 stolen bases and was also 6-2 as a pitcher.

Meanwhile, Colusa's Emiley Correa and Tiffany Friel were named to the second team, along with Lyndsey Sizemore of Live Oak.

Friel was 27-3 with a 0.63 ERA to establish herself as one the top pitchers in the area as just a sophomore. She tossed five no-hitters and struck out 386 batters this year.

Her catcher, Correa, provided the bat for Colusa's run to the section title. She hit .436, had 37 RBIs, scored 36 runs and blasted five homers.

Lyndsey Sizemore batted .500, knocked in 30 RBIs and stole 30 bases.

For baseball, earning most of the recognition was East Nicolaus.

Andrew Rubalcava beat out Winters' Bryan Case to earn the first team nod at catcher. He was joined by teammate Joe Kukuruda (outfielder).

"Joe and Andrew are game-changers," said East Nicolaus baseball coach Dave Deniz. "For the last three years, I've penciled in No. 13 (Rubalcava) in the No. 3 hole in every game except for two. I don't know who's catching for us next year, but I'll tell you right now, they're going to have some big shoes to fill."

Rubalcava batted .426 with six home runs, 37 RBIs, 34 runs and was the Mid-Valley League MVP, while Kukuruda wrapped his senior year with a career 90 stolen bases — out of 91 attempts. The only time he was caught stealing was when he slipped during a tournament game earlier this season. He also batted .476 with four homers and 36 runs.

Also named all-section second team was East Nicolaus' Dylan Culp.

"I saw this coming," Deniz said. "He put in a ton of work in the offseason. He was the only one who could throw seven innings right off the bat when the season started for us."

Tyler Wells of Maxwell was named first team all-section. Wells went 11-0 with a 1.65 ERA and 107 strikeouts and hit 45 RBIs with 14 doubles and scored 33 times. Teammate Steven Perry was named to the second team. Perry hit .452, scored 48 times, had 42 hits and roped 12 doubles. He was also 8-2 from the hill with a 1.78 ERA and 91 strikeouts.

Sutter's Dariusz Ratajczak and Colusa's Benji Gil were also named to the second team. Ratajczak batted .446 and was the top pitcher on the team, while Gil went 6-2 from the mound. He struck out out 64 and had an 0.60 ERA. Gil also batted .440, scored 20 times, knocked in 28 runs and hit five homers.