Sac-Joaquin Section high school softball: What to watch for the week of March 2

Big early season games and tournaments highlight a great week of high softball in the Greater Sacramento area.

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Mar 2, 2020, 1:15pm
Video: Kristin Blake of Ponderosa hits a 2-run home run
The Bruins junior clubbed the long ball in her first at-bat of the season.

Unlike a year ago, the softball season can begin as scheduled around the Sac-Joaquin Section. Some were in action on Friday and with the sun is out this week, that brings good news for players, parents, coaches and fans as we have solid games on tap.

Starting mid-week and lasting through Saturday will be several tournaments.

The 2020 Franklin High School PreSeason Tournament is loaded with talent. If you head to the Sacramento Sports Complex you can watch eight ranked teams and more who are on the bubble. The ranked teams include No. 3 Del Oro (Loomis), No. 6 Vacaville, No. 8 Oakdale, No. 16 Oakmont (Roseville), No. 17 Ponderosa (Shingle Springs), No. 20 Rosemont (Sacramento), No. 22 Cosumnes Oaks (Elk Grove), and No. 24 Pioneer (Woodland). There are some other sleepers that could emerge as ranked teams after this tournament.
Tawni McCarty, Waterford
Tawni McCarty, Waterford
File photo by Samuel Stringer
Here are some things to keep an eye on for the week of March 2.

No. 1 Sheldon (Sacramento) begins its season on the road on Tuesday against Oakdale and then on Saturday at No. 2 Whitney (Rocklin). Sheldon is not messing around as it's stacked the preseason schedule.

Before hosting Sheldon, Whitney opens up on the road Monday at No. 18 Roseville.

Some unfortunate news for Del Oro as it looks like the Golden Eagles may be without Clemson commit Maddie Moore for the season. They'll be in the Franklin High School PreSeason Tournament starting March 5, opening against Vacaville in a rematch of last year's Division II section title game.

Before heading to the Franklin tournament, No. 17 Ponderosa starts this week at No. 20 Rosemont on Monday and at No. 14 Folsom on Tuesday.

No. 4 Elk Grove is another team that was hit with injuries. Humboldt State commit Ava Hand recently had surgery. Hand was 37-11 overall with 494 strikeouts in the circle. Also sitting out right now is catcher and Boise State commit Brooklynn Pettis. The Herd lost to No. 9 Rocklin on Friday and travels to No. 11 Lodi on Tuesday and hosts Vacaville on Wednesday.

No. 5 Tracy is 1-0 after beating Oakdale on Friday. The Bulldogs have Cosumnes Oaks and No. 7 Vanden (Fairfield) this week.

No. 15 Vista del Lago (Folsom) and Roseville meet Wednesday. Both these teams have potential to make deep postseason runs this year.

How about some stats: (Thanks to those coaches who enter your data. It makes easier for us to highlight them).

It's early, but freshman Randi Roelling of Central Catholic (Modesto) already has three home runs. Mariah Rodriguez and Marissa Ramirez  of Lincoln (Stockton) have hit two, and so has Deborah Torres of Orestimba (Newman).

Senior Tawni McCarty was a 2020 Sac-Joaquin Section Player to Watch heading into the spring, and for good reason. In her first outing, she fanned 15 in a 3-1 complete-game win for Waterford.

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