Modesto

The Modesto Bee

Modesto-area softball and baseball players are among the best in the Sac-Joaquin Section

By Quinton Hamilton,

15 days ago

More than halfway through the spring season, teams and players are starting to set themselves apart as some of the best in the Sac-Joaquin Section.

Four baseball teams and four softball teams from the Stanislaus District are ranked among the section’s MaxPreps Top 25. With playoffs rapidly approaching, teams will fight for the next two and a half weeks for league position and hope for home-field advantage when the playoff brackets are released in May.

With teams searching for success down the stretch, their stars will have to be at their best. Several Modesto-area players are among the best offensive and defensive players in the Sac-Joaquin Section.

Here is where some of the best Stanislaus District baseball and softball players rank in the section:

Baseball

Hughson’s offense has been dominant so far this season and the stats back it up. Not only do the Huskies average nearly nine runs per game, they scored 15 or more runs three times during a five-game stretch in mid-March. Not surprisingly, Hughson is 16-2. The Huskies have two of the section’s top 15 RBI and runs-scored leaders.

Stanislaus District pitchers have been great as well. Three pitchers are in the top 10 in strikeouts and four have at least five wins.

Hitting

Batting Average

8th: Michael Miller, Turlock Christian (.590)
12th: Dawson Downs, Ripon (.526)

Home Runs

3rd: Dawson Downs, Ripon (5)
4th: Caleb Wilson, Hughson (4)
10th: Landon Schutte, Oakdale (3)
14th: Vincent Castrejon, Ceres (3)

RBI

2nd: Landon Schutte, Oakdale (27)
5th: Paul Wagner, Hughson (24)
12th: Joshua Buffalow, Ripon Christian (22)
13th: Caleb Wilson, Hughson (22)

Runs

7th: Grant Sonke, Ripon Christian (26)
8th: Caleb Wilson, Hughson (26)
13th: JC Lupercio, Hughson (25)
14th: Griffin Costa, Oakdale (25)

Stolen Bases

10th: Aien Maines, Ceres (22)
15th: Grant Sonke, Ripon Christian (19)
16th: Jesus Ontiveros, Modesto Christian (19)

Pitching (Min. 25 innings pitched)

Earned Run Average

3rd: TP Wentworth, Central Catholic (0.00)
18th: Max Medina, Patterson (0.39)

Strikeouts

2nd: Kaden Prine, Denair (78)
3rd: Landon Schutte, Oakdale (75)
10th: Jackson Takhar, Hilmar (62)
11th: Greg Adams, Escalon (61)
19th: Jackson Howell, Big Valley Christian (57)

Wins

Landon Schutte, Oakdale (6-0 record)
Logan Ariza, Davis (6-1)
Caleb Wilson, Hughson (5-0)
Daniel Mazon, Pitman (5-1)

All players mentioned are in the Top 20 among Sac-Joaquin Section athletes. Stats taken from MaxPreps as of Tuesday morning.

Softball

Central Catholic’s Jazmarie Roberts and Samantha Nichols of Central Catholic are the Stanislaus District’s runs leaders with 27 apiece. They are eighth and ninth in the section, respectively. Johansen’s Jamie Zarilla is in the top 10 of all section hitters in batting average and Hilmar’s Camryn Mattos is among the section’s 15 best in runs batted in.

Pitcher Kailey Estes at Gregori leads the section in wins (14) and is joined by four other Stanislaus District pitchers in the section’s top 10. Five of the section’s top pitchers in ERA are also from the area, led by the top two – Ava Hernandez of Big Valley Christian and Ripon’s Kharime Caratachea.