A Look at Colorado Softball's Stat Leaders

Lindsey Malkin has been ridiculous this season. So has her Broomfield teammate Taylor Gilmore. And Valor Christian's Alexandria Kilponen. And several others.

Nearly a month into the season, the softball stat leaderboards are sizzling with several eye-popping numbers. While there are too many to mention in a single sitting, it's time to take inventory of some of the most prominent.

In Class 5A, the Front Range League is well-represented atop the leaderboards. Malkin, a standout since she was a freshman, is tied for the classification lead with seven homers. More impressive is that the senior has compiled that total in a mere 22 official at-bats for the No. 3 Eagles. Her .682 average includes 11 extra-base hits. Teammate Gilmore has six home runs and leads the classification in pitching wins and strikeouts. She boasts a 9-2 record, 90 strikeouts, and a 1.04 ERA that ranks No. 2.

Elsewhere in the league, Faith Anderson of Fairview (Boulder) has recorded multiple hits in every game and is batting .778. The Legacy (Broomfield) trio of senior Trisha Cook and sophomores Katelyn Kubitschek and Lauren Strathearn have combined to go 47-for-63 for the No. 6 Lightning. That total is more typical of a free-throw shooter than that of hitters.



Out west, Grand Junction Central's Melissa Gellerman has matched Malkin's seven homers and has struck out 70 in the pitching circle. Other 5A standouts include Gracie Cordova of Pomona (Arvada), who has six homers and classification-best 25 RBI. Eaglecrest (Centennial) sophomore Rachel Sabourin also is crushing with six homers and 22 RBIs.

Brooklyn Trujillo of Prairie View (Henderson) is 8-1 with a classification-best 0.78 ERA and 68 strikeouts, and Emily Morris of No. 2 ThunderRidge (Highlands Ranch) also has been sharp. She's compiled a 6-1 mark with a 1.09 ERA and 69 strikeouts.

Rio Sanchez, Erie

File photo by Derek Regensburger

In 4A, it should serve as no surprise that pitchers Rio Sanchez of top-ranked Erie and Kilponen of No. 2 and two-time champ Valor Christian (Highlands Ranch) are atop the leaderboard. Each are 10-0, and Kilponen has allowed only one earned run in 58 innings (0.12 ERA). She has struck out a classification-best 124.

Sanchez checks in with a 1.07 ERA and 103 strikeouts, one shy of second-place Tracy Harris of George Washington (Denver).

Kilponen's Valor teammate Katie Meredith leads the classification in hitting with a .719 batting average, which is slightly trumps that of home-run leader Jetta Nannen. The Silver Creek (Longmont) sophomore is batting .684 with six bombs and 25 RBI. The home-run total edges that of the Thomas Jefferson (Denver) duo of Sevi Harden and Zoya Robbins, who have five apiece. Harden has produced a 4A-best 31 RBI for the No. 8 Spartans.

Nannen's teammate on No. 6 Silver Creek, Dana Dwyer, has gone 6-0 with an 0.25 ERA. Jade Garbiso of No. 9 Pueblo West also has been solid in the pitching circle.



In 3A, Strasburg dual-threat Dakota Stotyn is at it again. In addition to having a 5-0 record for the top-ranked Indians, Stotyn is batting .483 with four homers and 23 RBIs. She is not the classification's home-run leader, however, as that distinction currently belongs to Delta's Lily Lockhart (seven homers, 31 RBI). Her Panthers teammate Jenna Sutliff has blasted five round-trippers.

Reigning all-state selection Lanessa Amador of No. 5 The Academy (Westminster) is back at again, as well. She had nine extra-base hits in her first 15 at-bats this season.

Pitchers Selena Medina of No. 4 Rocky Ford and Morgan Ash of sixth-ranked Basalt also have been on point. Medina is 6-1 with a 1.62 ERA and Ash is off to a 5-1 start.