Who is the top team?
The path to the CCS championship will run through Mountain View. St. Francis lost the Central Coast Section Open final last year to come up just short of a three-peat. The top-seeded Lancers are the best team in the CCS again and should win a third Open trophy in four seasons. They recorded a shutout in 13 of 25 games, blanked three opponents to win the prestigious Michelle Carew tournament in SoCal, and run-ruled a dozen challengers. The 25-0 Lancers went undefeated in West Catholic Athletic League play for the fourth time in five seasons. Their dominance starts in the circle. Texas A&M commit Kate Munnerlyn has a 0.54 ERA in 91 innings pitched, striking out 162 of 309 batters faced. No. 2 starter Shannon Keighran is committed to Boise State and has a 1.31 ERA with 102 strikeouts in 64 innings. The hitting is just as good as the pitching .400 as a program. Reigning WCAL player of the year Jaime Oakland helps make sure that her pitchers get the run support they need, sporting a .671 batting average with 32 runs scored and 19 stolen bases. Junior Hayden Hummel has a .436 average and is tied for the team lead with 32 RBIs while also hitting eight home runs. Keighran and Munnerlyn aren’t just great pitchers – they also each hit over .390 and have combined for 62 RBIs and eight HRs. Joining the experienced core is freshman Peyton Tsao. She hit .441 with a team-high 11 home runs and 32 RBIs in the regular season. MaxPreps ranks the Lancers as the No. 2 team in the country. Their road through the section playoffs starts against No. 8 Carlmont – and barring a monumental upset – will continue against Willow Glen or Hillsdale.
Willow Glen’s Alanna Clincy (89) shown here in a file photo, has been the Rams best player. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
What are some top storylines?
St. Francis are the overwhelming favorites to win CCS Open Division, but if there’s one Bay Area team that can give the Lancers a close game, it’s No. 3 Archbishop Mitty. The Monarchs took St. Francis to the 10th inning in one of their regular season games. Pitcher Kyleigh Mace is good at inducing soft contact, which is what Hollister did last season when the Balers upset St. Francis in the CCS and NorCal finals. Mia Rodriguez, Sara Pina, Cara Edwards and Lindsey Miller all bat over .400, and Oklahoma commit Corri Hicks has belted seven home runs. Two-sport star McKenna Woliczko is expected to be healthy for the stretch run too, and has the range and arm to make any play at shortstop. If Mitty gets past Los Gatos, it will travel to defending champions Hollister for the semifinal … Willow Glen is back in the CCS Open bracket for the second year in a row, this time as the No. 5 seed. Ace pitcher Alanna Clincy has had the opposite of a sophomore slump, striking out 176 in 104 innings, and also hitting .474 with nine doubles at the plate. Lea Crawford and Haley Ocumen also hit over .400 and led the team in home runs. The Rams had leads over Hollister and Mitty in one-run losses. … No. 4 Hillsdale, which plays host to Willow Glen in the first round, has the top-end talent and experience in clutch situations to give some of the other teams problems. Pitcher Alexis Kuka is 18-3 and has had to win a number of close games, such as 1-0 victories over Burlingame, Capuchino and Mills. The Shelton sisters, senior Claire and sophomore Sophia, lead the offense. Claire Shelton is batting .500 with 38 RBIs, while Sophia has a .373 average. Mia DeMartini and Taylor O’Mahoney also bring skilled bats to the playoffs. … Gunn went 23-1 and was rewarded with the No. 2 seed in Division I. The Titans were one 5-4 extra-inning loss to Notre Dame-San Jose away from a perfect regular season. Ace pitcher Lauryn Selvaraj has a 0.98 ERA with 152 strikeouts to just 21 walks. … Valley Christian took its lumps against the WCAL powerhouses Mitty and St. Francis, but now get to play the role of the favorites as the No. 1 seed in Division II. Talia Haskins is the Warriors most dangerous hitter, batting .406 with a team-high five homers and 32 RBIs. … The King’s Academy is the top seed in Division I, Alisal is the No. 1 in Division III, Piedmont Hills is the highest seed in Division IV and Burlingame is the No. 1 team in Division V.
What team could make a surprise run?
sMilpitas’ Destiny Solis (2), shown here in a file photo, is one of the the team’s best hitters. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)The Lancers should have a vice grip on the Open Division, but the same cannot be said for Division II. Valley Christian is talented, but No. 4 Milpitas has the talent to make a surprise run to the title. The team, by its high standards, had a so-so regular season at 17-9. But a year after reaching the Open playoffs, Milpitas brings grizzled playoff performers back to the postseason under first-year coach Samantha Rodriguez. April Price us a speedster who has swiped 27 bases, and Destiny Solis and Chloe Cabrera have combined for 35 RBIs. If the Trojans take down Scotts Valley in the first round, they’ll have a shot at No. 1 Valley Christian in the second.
