Five NCAA Division-I bound softball players from the area and two baseball standouts from Manteca High have been named to the Cal-Hi Sports All-State teams.
The Valley Oak League softball champion East Union Lancers have two all-state honorees in the medium-schools division in New Mexico-bound pitcher Mikayla Bongi and outfielder Alexis Erich (Liberty). They were part of the 2015 Sac-Joaquin Section Division III championship team that was also crowned the Cal-Hi Sports Division III State Team of the Year.
East Union finished 28-5 this past spring and reached the SJS Division III finals, falling to Benicia.
Erich is the reigning Offensive Player of the Year on the All-VOL and Manteca Bulletin All-Area teams after hitting .620 with eight homers and 51 RBIs. She made the all-state medium schools first team.
An all-state medium-schools second-team selection, Bongi finished with a 0.87 ERA, 16-4 record and 170 strikeouts over 121 innings.
Nebraska commit Lindsey Walljasper joins Erich on the medium-schools first team as a multi-purpose player. The All-VOL and All-Area Pitcher of the Year sported a 0.23 ERA and 8-3 record along with 116 strikeouts in 60 1/3 innings in league play. The junior hurler led Sierra (16-9) to its fourth SJS Division IV title in seven years. She was also the Timberwolves’ leading hitter with a .406 average, and 15 RBIs in league.
Two-time All-Trans Valley League MVP Mikaela Ferreira, who is heading to Saint Mary’s College, is on the all-state small-schools first team. The shortstop for Ripon (21-6), the third-place finisher in the SJS Division V playoffs after claiming its first section banner last year, enjoyed a career-best senior campaign in which she compiled a .648 batting average, 14 doubles, four homers and 40 RBIs.
All-Area MVP Katie O’Leary of Ripon Christian (22-7) made the small-schools second-team as an infielder. She anchored the Knights’ first-ever section title run in Division VII with an astounding .818 batting average and nine RBIs in four postseason contests. She batted .566 for the season with eight homers, 10 doubles, four triples, 46 RBIs and 54 runs. O’Leary is on her way to Brown University of the Ivy League.
Manteca High is represented by Joel Olmos and Ryan Ward on the all-state medium-schools team. Olmos made the first-team outfield after being named the Bulletin’s All-Area MVP and Offensive Player of the Year for the VOL. He ended up as the area leader with a .483 batting average, .574 on-base percentage and 36 runs scored. He had nine- and 10-game hitting streaks during his only season for Manteca.
Only a freshman, Ward is an all-state medium-schools second-team selection. The Buffaloes’ pitching ace went 11-1 on the season with a 1.18 ERA and 88 strikeouts in 71 innings.
Manteca (20-9) lost two of three to eventual SJS Division III champion Christian Brothers in the semifinals. The Buffaloes ended the Falcons’ 17-game winning streak in Game 2. Christian Brothers is the Cal-Hi Sports Division III State Team of the Year, and Rich Henning was named Medium Schools State Coach of the Year.