By Dave Krider
MaxPreps.com
Make way for Kayla Braud, who has been tabbed the “Ichiro” of high school softball. She truly is a hit-master, because she recently completed her junior year at Marist (Eugene, Ore.) with a national-record 73-game hitting streak, which has been fashioned over the past three years.
The record had been believed to be 75 games set earlier this year by Landon Warren, a senior from Broughton (Raleigh, N.C.). However, a closer check discovered that she actually had one hitless game as a sophomore, leaving her with separate 38- and 36-game hitting streaks.
Braud, an infielder and leadoff hitter, helped Marist (29-1) capture Oregon’s Class 4A state championship with a 1-0 victory in 10 innings against Klamath Falls Henley. She entered the game with an unreal .657 batting average and went 3-for-4. It’s no wonder she already has made a commitment to the University of Alabama, one of the top powers in the country.
But Marist, which won its last 24 games following a loss to Shadow Ridge (Las Vegas, Nev.), has another superstar and she’s only a freshman. Nyree White pitched the full 10 innings, scattering four hits and striking out 18 while posting her 18th shutout. In 183 innings, she struck out 353. She also hit 12 home runs and drove in 59 runs.
More Softball Notes
* Aledo (38-1-1) nipped Nederland, 4-0, in a four-hour, 15-inning marathon to uphold its No. 1 national ranking and win the Texas Class 4A state championship. MVP Whitney Canion (31-0-1) – a Baylor University signee – threw 202 pitches and set a Class 4A state tournament record with 22 strikeouts.
* California’s top-ranked team, Simi Valley, fell to defending champion Valencia, 3-0, in the Southern Section Division I championship game. Simi Valley had entered the game with a spotless 30-0 record. Valencia (29-5-1) got great mileage out of senior Jessica Spigner, who scattered four hits. Spigner has signed with the University of Tennessee as a third baseman, but was pressed into pitching this spring and went 29-5.
* San Pedro beat Woodland Hills El Camino Real, 3-1, to win the Los Angeles City Section title. University of Arizona recruit Perelini Koria had a smashing climax to her career with a state-record 45th career home run, which broke a sixth-inning deadlock. She also finished No. 2 in California history by driving in 174 runs. Taylor Petty (25-1, career 87-8) fired a two-hitter with 14 strikeouts.
* In Connecticut, Hamden Sacred Heart (13-10) stunned previously unbeaten and No. 2-ranked Bristol Eastern, 1-0, in a Class L second-round game. Sarah Brenzel put an exclamation mark on the shocker by firing a no-hitter and striking out 15 in a dominating performance. Alyssa Andreucci singled in the winning run during the eighth inning.
Baseball Notes
* O’Fallon St. Dominic erupted for 19 runs in a single inning during a 25-8 rout of Cape Girardeau Notre Dame in the Missouri Class 3 state semifinals. Must have been a national record, right? Wrong! Not even close! The national record is 37 runs in a single inning. The 19- and 25-run totals did, however, set state records, as did third baseman Will Mulligan’s two home runs in the sixth inning. There was no letdown, either, as the Crusaders then blanked Webb City, 8-0, to win their first state title.
* Despite losing first-round draft picks Mike Moustakas and Matt Dominguez last spring, Chatsworth (29-5) won its record eighth Los Angeles City Section championship with a 7-2 victory over Harbor City Narbonne at Dodger Stadium. Trevor Takeyama (14-1) fired a five-hitter with seven strikeouts. Junior shortstop Kasey Toven set the tone early by throwing two runners out at home plate in the first inning.
* In California’s Southern Section Division I finale, Simi Valley (25-8) scored three times in the ninth inning to defeat Long Beach Wilson and its high-draft choice, Aaron Hicks, 4-1, at Dodger Stadium. Earlier in the week, Simi Valley had nipped Santa Ana Mater Dei, 6-5, in 11 innings.
* Williston recorded three seven-inning shutouts to win its first North Dakota Class A state championship. The Coyotes nipped Fargo South, 1-0, in the finale. Earlier they blanked defending champion Dickinson, 2-0, and Fargo Shanley, 9-0. Senior left-hander Trevor Sorenson, who was named MVP, needed just 97 pitches to sideline Dickinson and then allowed only two hits while wrapping up the final three innings of the title contest.
* Terry High catcher Rashun Dixon was named Mr. Baseball in Mississippi after batting .511 with 14 home runs and 59 RBIs in 33 games. The 6-foot-2, 215-pound catcher, who has signed a football scholarship with Mississippi State University, has hit some home runs over 450 feet and could be drafted this week.
* Blissfield, Mich., coach Larry Tuttle became only the 11th high school baseball coach in history to record 1,000 victories during a 4-0 win over Belleville. In 41 seasons, the 63-year-old coach has put together a superb record of 1,001-295-5.
Basketball Notes
* Indiana high school basketball lost a long-time friend recently when James Bryce Stephens died at the ripe old age of 100. The Greenfield resident – a former teacher, coach, principal and superintendent – had attended every state tournament form 1925 through 2007 – a remarkable span of 82 consecutive years.
* Khris Middleton has made a commitment to Texas A&M University. The 6-7 standout averaged 21 points, 8.0 rebounds and 8.0 assists as a junior at Porter-Gaud (North Charleston, S.C.)…Lincoln (Brooklyn, N.Y.) junior Lance Stephenson has narrowed his college choices to Kansas, UCLA and the University of Southern California.
* One of the nation’s top girls basketball coaches, Mike Teasley, has resigned at Notre Dame Academy (Middleburg, Va.). In five years he led the Dragons to a 133-13 record…Pam Forbes has resigned as girls coach at Holden (La.) to spend more time with her four children, including eight-year-old triplets. She won three Class B state titles and compiled a 462-125 record in 16 years. Her husband, Craig, also resigned as an assistant coach.
Football Notes
* Boise State landed a huge commitment from Joe Southwick. The 6-2, 180-pound quarterback passed for 3,185 yards and 35 touchdowns as a junior at San Ramon Valley (Danville, Calif.)…Richard Brehaut made UCLA’s day when he joined the list of 2009 commitments. The 6-3 junior completed 65 percent of his passes for 2,248 yards and 22 touchdowns last fall for Rancho Cucamonga (Los Osos, Calif.).
* The University of Oklahoma received a commitment from an outstanding linebacker-defensive end, Gus Jones. The 6-2, 211-pounder was credited with 170 tackles and 15 sacks as a junior for Wagoner (Okla.). He also rushed for close to 1,000 yards and scored 15 touchdowns as a fullback…Caddo Mills (Texas) defensive end Ryan Calender (6-8, 220) has made a commitment to the University of Arkansas. He had 80 tackles and 20 tackles for losses as a junior.
* Hank Tierney has resigned as head coach at West Jefferson (Harvey, La.) and reportedly will take a position as offensive coordinator at Ponchatoula so he can work with his former assistant, Mike Baiamonte. During 25 years as head coach at Marrero Archbishop Shaw and West Jefferson, Tierney posted a 221-75 record and established a reputation as one of the premier coaches in Louisiana.
Tennis Notes
* Top-seeded Kevin King (Peachtree City, Ga.) defeated No. 2-seeded Ryan Lipman (Nashville, Tenn.), 6-3, 6-3, to win the 18-and-under boys singles at the Peach State Classic in Norcross, Ga. The girls 18 crown went to eighth grader Whitney Kay (Alpharetta, Ga.), who defeated sophomore Allison Falkin (Roswell, Ga.), 6-2, 6-1.
* The Tennis Recruiting Network has ranked Stanford University’s 2008 recruits No. 1 in the nation. The recruits are Californians Bradley Klahn, Ryan Thacher and Jamie Hutter. Rounding out the top five (in order) are Southern California, North Carolina, Duke and Notre Dame.
Potpourri
* Senior Shannon Smith scored 10 goals as West Babylon (N.Y.) outlasted North Babylon, 22-20, in a Suffolk Class A girls lacrosse quarterfinal. The Northwestern University recruit has scored 500 career goals, which should be a national record when it is turned in to the National Federation. The listed national record is only 315 goals.
* Aurora Waubonsie Valley (26-0-1) blanked Belleville Althoff, 3-0, to win Illinois’ Class AA girls state soccer championship. The Warriors, who are unbeaten in their last 58 matches, played without All-Stater Bri Rodriguez, who suffered a torn ACL in her left knee during the quarterfinals. All-State junior goalkeeper Claire Hanold picked up the slack by posting her 22nd shutout of the year and 64th of her career – six short of the state record.
* USA Hockey has named Jack Connolly Junior Player of the Year. Connolly had 72 points and was named Rookie of the Year while starring for the Sioux Falls Stampede in the United States Hockey League….Drew Palmisano was named Goalie of the Year. The Omaha Lancers star paced the USHL with 32 regular-season victories. He also posted an unprecedented four shutouts and was named MVP during the playoffs as the Lancers captured the Clark Cup.
* Hyun Seok Lim of Fullerton, Calif., came from behind on the final day to finish at 7-under-par 209 and win the boys division of the Thunderbird International Junior Golf Tournament in Scottsdale, Ariz. He will attend the University of Southern California in the fall.
* Las Lomas (Walnut Creek, Calif.) sophomore Kasey Carlson became the first female swimmer to break the one-minute barrier in the 100-yard breaststroke this season. She was clocked in a swift 59.94 during the preliminaries to set a North Coast Section record.
