St. Joseph freshman left fielder Kaycie Gavlak did a lot of good work at the plate last week. As a result, she is the Times area Player of the Week for the week ending May 20, as determined by voters.
Gavlak doubled, homered and drove in two runs in the top-ranked Knights' 10-0 win over No. 9 Bakersfield Highland in the quarterfinals of the CIF Central Section Division 2 Softball Playoffs.
The freshman garnered 20,365 votes. No. 4 Madera beat St. Joseph 9-1 Tuesday in the semifinals.
Gabe Barraza was the runner-up in the voting for Times area POTW. Barraza, a second baseman-pitcher for the Cabrillo baseball team, notched 17,975 votes.
Barraza went 5-for-5 in the No. 3 Conquistadores' 10-4 quarterfinals win over No. 11 Fresno Central. Cabrillo's starting second baseman swapped positions with starting pitcher Spencer Gallimore with two outs in the seventh inning because of the pitch count Gallimore amassed.
Barraza gave up two runs via a single and three walks but then got the last out on a called third strike. At press time Friday, the Conquistadores, who edged No. 7 St. Joseph 2-1 in seven innings in the semifinals Tuesday, were to play No. 1 Bakersfield Christian that night for the Division 2 championship.
Here is a rundown on the rest of the candidates and their accomplishments.
Julian Diaz-Resendez, Pioneer Valley baseball, 2,851 votes.
Diaz-Resendez drove in two runs to help the No. 4 Panthers to an 8-3 win over No. 5 Washington Union in the Division 3 quarterfinals. No. 1 Kingsburg edged Pioneer Valley 1-0 Tuesday in the semis.
Spencer Gallimore, Cabrillo baseball, 2,324 votes
Gallimore pitched a six-hitter against Fresno Christian before switching positions with Gallimore because of the pitch count. Gallimore persevered despite throwing around 100 pitches unofficially.
Jayson Rodriguez, St. Joseph baseball, 1,536 votes
Rodriguez went 3-for-3 with a double and scored a run for the Knights in their 5-0 win at No. 2 Kerman. The Knights broke open what had been a scoreless game with four runs in the sixth inning.
Cash Carter, Righetti baseball
Carter got two hits in No. 7 Righetti's 2-0 loss at Clovis Buchanan in the Division 1 quarterfinals. The Bears have since moved into the title game.
Jacob Escobedo, Lompoc baseball
Escobedo hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning to help spark a late rally that lifted the No. 12 Braves to a 10-6 win at No. 4 Lemoore in the Division 2 quarterfinals. The Braves won at a higher seed for the second straight time.
Nasim Moody, Hancock track
Moody, a freshman from Philadelphia, notched fifth place in the men's long jump with a career best 7.05 meters at the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) State Championship at Modesto Junior College.
Lylah Garcia, Orcutt Academy softball
The freshman right-hander pitched a one-hit complete game in the No. 3 Spartans' 9-3 win over No. 6 Tollhouse Sierra at Lakeview Junior High School in the Division 6 quarterfinals. The Spartans eventually advanced to the championship game and were set to play No. 4 Bakersfield South Friday for the Division 6 title.
Niko Peinado, St. Joseph baseball
Peinado threw a four-hit complete game and drove in a run in St. Joseph's win at Kerman.  Â