Ceres High’s Ava Montesdeoca, Alizae Cole, Bella Bravo and Elizabeth Figueora, and Central Valley’s Brooklynn Steeley, Gabriela Delatorre and Reylena Herrera were rewarded during the Western Athletic Conference year-end softball head coaches’ meeting this past May in Los Banos.
“I left the meeting satisfied,” Bulldogs’ leader Josie Heacox stated.
“You never know how things are going to play out,” Hawks’ coach Jimmy Bates said. “The girls were really deserving of all-league honors. They worked really hard to get that.”
Montesdeoca, a senior shortstop, was voted the Western Athletic Conference’s Offensive Player of the Year.
She also earned first-team all-WAC honors for the fourth time.
“I really wanted Ava to get recognized,” Heacox said.
Montesdeoca batted .609 from the plate with three home runs, seven triples, seven doubles, 30 RBIs, 41 runs and 19 stolen bases while hitting leadoff during her final season with the Bulldogs.
She had on-base, slugging and on-base plus slugging percentages of .688, 1.078 and 1.766, respectively.
Montesdeoca committed just two errors on the year en route posting a fielding percentage of .944.
“Whatever the situation was, she was going to be productive,” Heacox said. “I knew she was going to get the job done. She was the toughest out to get all year. That’s exactly how you can describe her as a player.”
In 94 career games, Montesdeoca batted .572 with 11 home runs, 14 triples, 31 doubles, 95 RBIs, 172 runs, 54 walks and 69 stolen bases.
She had on-base, slugging and on-base plus slugging percentages of .640, .875 and 1.515, respectively.
Montesdeoca will continue her playing career at Stanislaus State.
“Ava has a really high softball IQ,” Heacox said. “She’s so versatile. She can hit for power. She has a lot of speed. She has a lot of tools in her tool belt.”
Cole, Bravo, Steeley and Delatorre were selected to the WAC First Team.
Cole, a senior pitcher, compiled a 10-4 record with a 2.84 earned-run average, 123 strikeouts and 65 walks in 911/3 innings.
She was also a major contributor on offense.
Cole batted .528 with two home runs, four triples, 15 doubles, 20 RBIs, 35 runs, 29 walks and eight stolen bases.
She earned a scholarship to NCAA Division-I Cal State Northridge.
“Alizae has a lot of fight,” Heacox said. “She gives you a lot of effort. She understands the we-before-me mentality.”
Bravo, a junior outfielder, batted .523 with two home runs, three triples, eight doubles, 24 RBIs, 27 runs and nine stolen bases.
“Bella was hitting consistently,” Heacox said. “She showed a lot of power. She really made an impact.”
Steeley, a junior pitcher/first baseman, posted a 7-2 record with a 3.63 earned-run average, 103 strikeouts and 38 walks in 98 innings.
She batted .384 with two home runs, nine doubles, 17 RBIS and nine runs and 14 walks.
“For the second year in a row, Brooklynn logged the most innings (at pitcher),” Bates said. “She made a huge jump in strikeouts and minimized her walks. She used her changeup a lot more to keep batters off-balance. She was also our biggest power source in the middle of our lineup. She’s just a competitor.”
Steeley worked with former Central Valley softball standout Scarlett Lloyd during the season.
Lloyd pitched at NCAA Division-I University of the Pacific and Wagner College.
“Allowing her (Steeley) to learn from Scar built some confidence,” Bates said. “Brooklynn’s not just a contact pitcher. She can be a strikeout pitcher as well.
Delatorre, a junior utility player who contributed as a pitcher, third baseman, shortstop and outfielder, batted .333 with one home run, two triples, 11 doubles, 29 RBIs, 29 runs, nine walks and nine stolen bases.
She posted a 3-0 record in the circle with a 6.72 earned-run average, 39 strikeouts and 29 walks in 50 innings.
“She played everywhere for us this year,” Bates said. “That was really selfless of her. She just wanted to help the team.”
Figueroa and Herrera both garnered second-team all-conference recognition.
Figueroa, a junior pitcher/outfielder, compiled a 5-3 record with a 2.58 earned-run average, 44 strikeouts and 12 walks in 402/3 innings.
“Lizzie mixes speeds really well,” Heacox said. “She has a really good changeup.”
Figueroa batted .362 with two doubles, 21 RBIs, 26 runs and 10 stolen bases.
“She put the ball in play,” Heacox said. “She put pressure on the defense.”
Herrera, a sophomore shortstop/third baseman, batted .361 with one home run, two triples, nine doubles, 20 RBIs, 33 runs, 14 walks and eight stolen bases.
“She was the tone-setter of the team,” Bates said. “She did a great job of leading by example. Nobody could question her effort. She was a tough out on offense. She commanded the defense. She’s truly amazing as person.”
Ceres High (12-2) and Central Valley (7-7) finished first and fourth, respectively, in the WAC standings.
The Bulldogs won their third consecutive league championship.
