Prep Softball: Players to Watch list as the CIF-SS playoff brackets are released

The CIF-Southern Section softball playoff brackets were released Saturday morning, and 12 local squads will begin their quests at hoisting a title.

It’s a feat last accomplished locally by Sultana in 2021 and three players from that squad are currently on the Sultans’ roster, including Hope Merrill and Katelyn Parrish, who are some of the top players on which to keep an eye during the postseason.

Eight of the local teams will begin the playoffs with home games. Seven of those are first-round games, while Apple Valley drew a wild card game, which will be played Tuesday afternoon. The Sun Devils are home in Division 5 action against Kaiser, with the winner moving onto the first round against Quartz Hill.

Oak Hills and Sultana are the teams competing in the highest division of all the local teams. Oak Hills enters the playoffs ranked No. 9 in Division 4, while Sultana, the Mojave River League champion, is right behind at No. 10.

In Division 6, University Prep is ranked No. 7 after ending tied for first place in the Cross Valley League standings. Granite Hills, the Desert Sky League champion, is right behind University Prep at No. 8.

Academy for Academic Excellence, which shared the CVL title, is ranked No. 6 in Division 7.

Did you vote for him?Sultana’s Brayden Booth is the Victorville Chevrolet High School Athlete of the Week

In Division 8, Hesperia Christian enters the playoffs as the No. 1 seed after sharing the Agape League title. Excelsior, which received an at-large bid, is ranked No. 3.

The first round begins Thursday. Here’s a complete list of the CIF-SS softball playoffs schedule:

• Wild Card Round — Tuesday, April 30
• First Round — Thursday, May 2
• Second Round — Tuesday, May 7
• Quarterfinals — Thursday, May 9
• Semifinals — Saturday, May 11
• Championships — Friday, May 17, and Saturday, May 18, at Deanna Manning Stadium or home sites
• Here’s a look at all the teams in action, along with a list of players on which to keep an eye. All the statistics are provided from MaxPrep.com, and pitching stats are in parentheses.

Mojave River League

• Div. 4 — Oak Hills (17-6) vs. Monrovia (10-7)
• Div. 4 — Sultana (20-8) vs. Wilson (15-10)
• Div. 5 — WC round, Apple Valley (14-10) vs. Kaiser (11-12-1)

Desert Sky League

• Div. 5 — Barstow (15-12) at Garden Grove (15-9)
• Div. 5 — Silverado (9-11) at South El Monte (9-10)
• Div. 6 — Granite Hills (17-6-1) vs. WCB (Hamilton/Flintridge Prep)

Cross Valley League

• Div. 6 — University Prep (25-3) vs. San Jacinto Valley (18-7)
• Div. 7 — Academy for Academic Excellence (16-2-2) vs. Orangewood Academy (12-5)
• Div. 7 — Riverside Prep (12-17-1) at Bishop Conaty-Loretto (18-8)
• Div. 8 — Excelsior (13-13) at Santa Ana (11-13)

Agape League

• Div. 7 — Academy of Careers & Exploration (12-11) vs. Nuview Bridge (9-11)
• Div. 8 — No. 1 Hesperia Christian (15-5) vs. St. Pius/St. Matthias (6-11)

Players to watch

Academy for Academic Excellence

• Aiden Carlson, senior — .486 avg., 2 HR, 41 RBIs, 25 runs, 14 SB — (6-1, 1.58 ERA, 52 K)
• Haylee Berg, sophomore — .629 avg., 5 HR, 28 RBIs, 19 runs, 11 SB — (6-1, 2.67 ERA, 57 K)
• Kayla Berg, freshman — .627 avg., 7 HR, 33 RBIs, 46 runs, 16 SB
• Paityn Thibodeaux, senior — .606 avg., 8 HR, 45 RBIs, 37 runs, 18 SB

Academy of Careers & Exploration

• Addison Shockley, sophomore — .521 avg., 4 HR, 26 RBIs, 40 runs, 29 SB
• Aniya Edwards, senior — .563 avg., 1 HR, 25 RBIs, 34 runs, 14 SB — (4-2, 6.64 ERA, 121 K)
• Araceli Manzo, senior — .667 avg., 10 HR, 40 RBIs, 41 runs, 20 SB
• Danaka Pelayes, senior — .547 avg., 4 HR, 38 RBIs, 30 runs, 7 SB

Apple Valley High School

• Bethany Morrison, senior — .513 avg., 4 HR, 28 RBIs, 31 runs, 24 SB
• Brynne Johnson, junior — .320 avg., 4 HR, 18 RBIs, 23 runs, 9 SB — (12-5, 2.37 ERA, 101 K)
• Hailey Macias, sophomore — .462 avg., 8 RBIs, 18 runs, 7 SB
• Payton Gaytan, sophomore — .397 avg., 7 HR, 28 RBIs, 30 runs, 5 SB
• Samantha Dollar, junior — .321 avg., 2 HR, 9 RBIs, 23 runs, 9 SB

Barstow High School

• Alyssa Ramsey, senior — .585 avg., 3 HR, 14 RBI, 32 runs, 11 SB
• Chloe Beldsoe, senior — .391 avg., 19 RBIs, 22 runs, 2 SB
• Mariah Rodriguez, senior — .607 avg., 8 HR, 37 RBIs, 31 runs, 3 SB
• Riley Purdy, junior — .548 avg., 4 HR, 32 RBIs, 26 runs, 6 SB

Excelsior

• Evangeline Archuleta, junior — .344 avg., 24 RBIs, 21 runs, 11 SB
• Rylie Hunsaker, junior — .444 avg., 2 HR, 24 RBIs, 36 runs, 22 SB
• Samantha Minghelli, junior — .321 avg., 30 RBIs, 28 runs, 24 SB
• Tristen Gonzalez, junior — .493 avg., 15 RBIs, 45 runs, 28 SB

Granite Hills High School

• Emily Marks, sophomore — .658 avg., 8 HR, 49 RBIs, 31 runs, 5 SB
• Mia Vazquez, senior — .582 avg., 1 HR, 33 RBIs, 45 runs — (14-4, 3.50 ERA, 108 K)
• Mylie Shepard, junior — .554 avg., 3 HR, 26 RBIs, 32 runs
• Mariah Maestas, senior — .507 avg., 7 HR, 33 RBIs, 25 runs, 4 SB
• Saylor Croom, sophomore — .492 avg., 5 HR, 27 RBIs, 23 runs

Hesperia Christian

• Eden Skinner, sophomore — . 623 avg., 4 HR, 32 RBIs, 42 runs, 15 SB
• Elyse VanderWeide, sophomore — .443 avg., 4 HR, 23 RBIs, 32 runs, 17 SB
• Gabby Stoops, senior — .392 avg., 1 HR, 17 RBIs, 34 runs, 7 SB
• Riley Piorkowski, freshman — .627 avg., 2 HR, 24 RBIs, 36 runs, 12 SB

Oak Hills High School

• Amaya Sigala, freshman — .565 avg., 4 HR, 26 RBIs, 29 runs, 6 SB
• Daylin Hoenisch, junior — . 436 avg., 3 HR, 17 RBIs, 34 runs
• Jade Whitman, junior — .460 avg. 1 HR, 19 RBIs, 20 runs, 2 SB
• Maddie Romo, senior — .554 avg., 8 HR, 38 RBIs, 32 runs — (15-4, 2.47 ERA, 157 K)
• Rylie Gresham-Center, senior — .423 avg., 9 RBIs, 29 runs, 2 SB

Riverside Prep

• Alyssa Martinez, junior — .367 avg., 1 HR, 18 RBIs, 31 runs, 15 SB
• Jazlyne Torres, freshman — .333 avg., 1 HR, 13 RBIs, 13 runs, 4 SB
• Liliana Cazares, junior — .342 avg., 1 HR, 15 RBIs, 23 runs, 5 SB
• Rachel Lillibridge, senior — .441 avg., 19 RBIs, 11 runs, 3 SB

Silverado High School

• Alex Valdez, junior — .400 avg., 1 HR, 6 RBIs, 16 runs
• Alexis Rodriguez, sophomore — .548 avg., 1 HR, 16 RBIs, 12 runs, 3 SB
• Haylee Stanislawski, senior — .750 avg., 9 HR, 27 RBIs, 28 runs, 4 SB
• Janaeh Silva, sophomore — .375 avg., 11 RBIs, 13 runs, 6 SB

Sultana High School

• Avery Rodriguez, junior — .506 avg., 10 HR, 38 RBIs, 34 runs
• Hope Merrill, senior — .353 avg., 7 HR, 29 RBIs, 32 runs, 9 SB
• Isabel Avalos, junior — .443 avg., 5 HR, 20 RBIs, 13 runs, 2 SB
• Jordan Mullinax, junior — .415 avg., 2 HR, 16 RBIs, 31 runs, 5 SB
• Katelyn Parrish, senior — .367 avg., 1 HR, 16 RBIs, 17 runs, 8 SB
• Maria Perez, senior — .586 avg., 7 HR, 32 RBIs, 27 runs
• Savannah Vanderpool, junior — .333 avg., 4 HR, 22 RBIs, 5 runs — (18-4, 1.62 ERA, 244 K)

University Prep

• Briseis Vargas, sophomore — . 423 avg., 14 RBIs, 22 runs — (5-0, 1.91 ERA, 29 K)
• Carsyn Leon, freshman .314 avg., 16 RBIs, 3 runs, 2 SB — (10-3, 3.63 ERA, 79 K)
• Dani Jackman, senior — .739 avg., 20 HR, 82 RBIs, 30 runs, 2 SB
• Paityn Zimmerman, sophomore — .412 avg., 4 HR, 28 RBIs, 40 runs, 5 SB
• Saidy Gonzalez, freshman — .494 avg., 2 HR, 29 RBIs, 48 runs, 8 SB