2020 Season Interrupted: Highlights Of South Coast Softball
With the official and premature end of the 2020 South Coast Conference softball season due to the worldwide health crisis, the end result produced no champion and no All-SCC Team but it doesn't take away from the performances of the teams and their individuals. Here's a recap of softball's highights.
STANDINGS
While Mt. San Antonio technically keeps a streak of four straight South Coast Conference titles going into next year, the Mounties were a perfect 9-0 in SCC play when the season was halted on March 12. The two-time defending CCCAA state champions, Mt. SAC held an 18-1 overall record, its only loss to 2017 state champ Cypress, 2-1, on Feb. 27. Mt. SAC's offense was lethal, reaching double figures in runs 10 times and scoring 28 runs in one win and 31 in another. The Mounties led the state in batting with a .441 team average and had the state's fifth lowest ERA with their pitchers posting a 1.94 mark.
Mt. SAC has a current 35-game, conference-counting win streak that dates back to April, 2018. The Mounties were ranked #3 in the state poll and #2 in SoCal.
East Los Angeles was in second place at the time of the stoppage with a 7-3 mark and had a strong start to 2020 at 12-6 overall. The second-place race was hotly contested with four teams all bunched closely. El Camino, a team that also holds a streak of three straight South Coast titles going (all South Division), was 6-3-1 and 12-7-1 overall. The Warriors were the only other team rated in the SoCal Top 10 at #10. Pasadena City had a 6-4 SCC mark and 11-9 overall record while Long Beach City was 6-5 and 9-7 overall.
The conference had done well in the regional RPI ratings that would have helped determine playoff seedings. Mt. SAC was #1 in SoCal, followed by El Camino #12, Pasadena #13, Long Beach #14, East LA #16, and Cerritos at #19.
STATE TEAM LEADERS
Batting Average--Mt. SAC #1, .441
On Base Percentage--Mt. SAC #1, .501
Slugging Percentage--Mt. SAC #2, .695
Runs Scored--Mt. SAC #4, 214
Home Runs--Mt. SAC #2, 26; East LA #10, 12
Triples--Long Beach #5, 13
Doubles--Mt. SAC #6, 44
Stolen Bases--Pasadena #3, 59; El Camino #5, 52
Walks--Cerritos #4, 74; Pasadena #9, 66
SOUTH COAST CONFERENCE INDIVIDUAL STATISTICAL LEADERS
https://southcoastconf.com/sports/sball/2019-20/leaders
HITTING
Batting Average: Jade Wittman, Long Beach, .700 (28-for-40), Nicole Siess, Mt. SAC, .518 (29-for-56), Itzel Soto, Cerritos, .509 (27-for-53)
On Base Percentage: Wittman, .727, Danielle Ruiz, Pasadena, .592, Soto, .588
Slugging Percentage: Siess, 1.196, Wittman, 1.025, Soto, 1.019
RBI: Siess, 29, Kelly Monroy, Rio Hondo, 23, Megan Jones, Mt. SAC, 23
Hits: Siess, 29, Mina Nakawake, El Camino, 29, Wittman, 28
Home Runs: Siess, 7, Alyssa Martinez, Mt. SAC, 6, Clarissa Chiquete, El Camino, 5, Soto, 5
Triples: Siess, 4, Wittman, 4, Yazmin Zendejas, Long Beach, 4
Doubles: Siess, 9, Mya Logan, Long Beach, 7, Nakawake, 7
Runs Scored: Siess, 26, Ashley Bravo, Rio Hondo, 23, Ruiz, 23, Soto, 23
Stolen Bases: Ruiz 18, Derrin Atwood, Compton 12, Samantha Diaz, Pasadena, 12
Walks: Ruiz 17, Chiquete, 12, Diaz, 12
PITCHING
Pitching ERA (minimum 35 innings pitched): Alexia Silvas, Mt. SAC, 1.07 (45.2 IP), Elizabeth Cortez, El Camino, 2.82 (57 IP), Lauren Tate, East LA, 3.05 (39 IP)
Wins: Silvas, 9, Cortez, 8, Elena Bahnimtewa, Pasadena, 6, Raylena Valencia, East LA, 6
Saves: Austyn Helmuth, Pasadena, 4, 4 pitchers then tied with 1
Strikeouts: Silvas, 48, Skyler Swearingen, Cerritos, 47, Cortez, 40
Complete Games: Daisy Torres, Long Beach, 6, Helmuth 5, Vanessa Soriano, Compton, 5
Innings Pitched: Helmuth 77.1 (19 appearances), Swearingen, Cerritos, 68 (13 appearances), Torres, 60.1 (13), Madeline Peralta, Rio Hondo 60 (18)
NOTES: Wittman led state in batting .700, Wittman #1 in OBP .727, Helmuth #1 in saves 4, Siess #3 in SLUG 1.196, Ruiz #3 in steals 18, Ruiz #4 in BBs 17, Siess #5 in homers 7