Mt. SAC Scores 7th Straight SCC Softball Title; LBCC Slugger, Cerritos Ace Win Top Awards
In one of the most competitive seasons in South Coast Conference softball history, Mt. San Antonio College once again proved to be queen of the diamond in 2024 by capturing its seventh consecutive conference championship.
The Mounties didn't win the title outright until third-place El Camino downed second-place Long Beach City, 3-1, on Thursday in the conference finale. The Vikings finished at 17-4 in conference play.
Mt. SAC (32-3) had clinched at 18-3 when it beat Pasadena City, 7-3, at home on April 19 in its finale.
Maybe the biggest SCC win of the year for the Mounties was when they rallied to defeat host Compton, 7-2, in eight innings on April 4. In that game. Compton led 2-1 with two outs in the seventh, but Janis Espinoza delivered a clutch, game-tying RBI hit, then Mt. SAC scored five runs in the eighth for the victory.
COMPLETE ALL-SCC 2024 SOFTBALL TEAM
Mt. San Antonio's dugout leader Ruby Rojas was honored by SCC coaches in receiving the South Coast Coach of the Year, announced at the conference postseason meeting on Friday at Cerritos College.
Meanwhile, Long Beach slugger Anaya Togia, who had the highest SCC batting average (overall statistics) and was the state batting champion at .511 and drove in a state-high 59 RBI in 40 games, was selected as the SCC Most Valuable Player.
Togia, a freshman first baseman, also led leads the state in hits (67) and doubles (22). She has a SCC-best slugging percentage of .863 (third in Caifornia) while crushing eight home runs.
Cerritos sophomore ace Reanna Carranza was chosen as SCC Pitcher of the Year after throwing 260.1 innings and recording all 40 decisions by her team with a 2.58 ERA. Carranza's 28-12 overall mark and 14-7 conference record helped the Falcons to fourth place in the SCC. The 28 wins are second in the state.
Among the other All-SCC First Team selections were Mt. SAC frosh catcher Morgan Kneubuhler, who led SCC players in homers with nine to go with a .475 average and 47 RBI, Long Beach pitching ace Bayleigh Frye (17-8, 2.12 ERA, 134 strikeouts in 155 innings), and El Camino outfielder Malia Martin, who batted .376 with 33 RBI.
The SCC already knows it will have five teams in the upcoming SoCal Regional Playoffs with current RPI indicating three of the teams as first round hosts in Mt. SAC (#4), El Camino (#5), Long Beach (#6), with Cerritos just missing at #9. Compton, the surprise of the SCC as the fifth place team at 21-16 overall (9-12 in SCC play) is at #14.
The official region seedings and matchups will be announced some time this weekend on the 3C2A website.