ESPN High School Sports

Sacramento Sheldon and catching standout Moore have eyes on College Softball World Series.

MeShalon Moore from Sheldon of Sacramento was just one of three Huskies to have a phenomenal stretch of games in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Division I playoffs.

The UC Santa Barbara-bound catcher’s current battery mate, senior Arizona State-committed pitcher Alexis Cooper, as well as Nevada-bound outfielder Danielle Wiltz, were also equally deserving of being honored.

Now, after Moore joined Cooper, whom she’s caught since both were 9 years old, and Wiltz in leading Sheldon to the playoff championship, the delightful, well-spoken 3.6 GPA student-athlete has been named the final girls ESPNHS Cal-Hi Sports State Athlete of the Week for the 2011-2012 school year.

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Clutch double gives Foothill of Palo Cedro a section title and lets Dalton Kelly end career with 51-game streak of getting on base.

It wasn’t the first time in the last 51 games that Dalton Kelly’s streak of reaching base at least once came down to a last plate appearance, only this time it was literally the final at-bat for him in a Foothill of Palo Cedro baseball uniform.

With the score tied 5-5 in the bottom of the eighth inning of last week’s CIF Northern Section Division I title game against a Pleasant Valley of Chico team that had dealt Foothill its only two losses of a 29-2 season, the senior came through big time.

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Smashing her 19th and 20th homers of the season gets Morales higher on all-time state list, but it’s her pitching that has gotten her a scholarship to Hawaii.

After a sophomore year that saw her miss half the season with a pulled hamstring, a lot has happened to Indio junior softball player Heather Morales.

It began last summer when she showed enough prowess and flashed enough velocity (including a consistent 62-63 mile-per-hour fastball) that she received and accepted a college scholarship offer from the University of Hawaii.

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Blackburn no-hits team in the state rankings and shows he’s ready to raise his profile as a top prospect before next month’s MLB draft.

The pitching abilities demonstrated by Paul Blackburn from Heritage of Brentwood earned him a spot last summer on the Oakland Athletics Area Code team that competed in Long Beach.

It wasn’t until last week, however, that he finally achieved a feat every pitcher dreams of accomplishing.

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Before going to Arizona, Royal’s Bowling looking to roll up some strikes and pin some losses on her team’s opponents.

Had 2009 State Freshman of the Year Nancy Bowling from Royal of Simi Valley not missed a huge portion of her junior year due to a partial tear of her left patellar tendon, there’s little doubt the fireballing right-handed pitcher would be pushing for a spot in the Cal-Hi Sports State Record Book for career strikeouts.

Despite last year’s setback, the Arizona-bound student-athlete returned from the injury and hasn’t missed a beat.

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Gabrielino’s Acosta getting accustomed to throwing no-hitters. He threw his third of the season last week and is close to tying a state record.

Batters in the Mission Valley League of Southern California’s San Gabriel Valley are sure going to be glad when Angel Acosta from Gabrielino of San Gabriel has finally graduated.

Since his days as a freshman playing on the varsity, the 5-foot-11 right-handed pitcher has been mowing down batters with regularity.

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Marin pitcher mows down 37 batters on strikeouts in two days and picks a perfect time to get a no-hitter and hit a two-run homer in the same game.

The expression “some things are just meant to be” couldn’t be more appropriate than in the case of scholar-athlete Kim Scarsella from Tamalpais of Mill Valley.

With a 4.2 overall GPA and 4.6 this semester, plus having been a previous All-State selection, Scarsella has been under consideration for being honored as a State Athlete of the Week since the spring season began.

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Scrappy second baseman leads Clovis West to tourney title and shows how it’s done in the field, at the plate and in class.

When Scott Silva from Clovis West of Fresno steps onto a baseball field for a high school game, the Eagles’ second baseman usually isn’t one of the biggest guys around.

But don’t tell that to rival Clovis, the team that took out Clovis West from last year’s CIF Central Section Division I playoffs.

In the title game of the Fresno High Easter Baseball Classic last week against Clovis, and after the Golden Eagles had outscored their previous four tournament opponents by a combined 34-0, Silva and his team made a statement in an 8-2 victory.

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Huge second half of state final by Marqueze Coleman puts icing on the cake for memorable season by himself and Alemany team.

Although Marqueze Coleman from Bishop Alemany of Mission Hills had big outings all season, none was bigger than his second half feats of the Warriors’ 71-67 victory over Sacred Heart Cathedral of San Francisco last Saturday in the CIF Division III state championship.

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Norco’s Emily Lockman knows how to lock down the plate as a big-time softball pitcher. She’s proven to be particularly good in tournament play, such as in last weekend’s Arizona Tournament of the Champions.

When Norco High’s Emily Lockman was a freshman, the Cougars took home the trophy at the prestigious Dave Kops Tournament of Champions in Bullhead City, Arizona.

That was in 2009 when Lockman was the backup pitcher for current Stanford star Teagan Gerhart.

Now, as a senior, it was Emily’s turn to shine in the circle at Mojave High, and the right-hander came through with flying colors.

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Archived Cal-Hi Sports content from previous platform

Sac High’s Jasmine Ware inspires her teammates and coaches with the way she plays after the obstacles she has overcome.

The expression “it takes a village to raise a child” probably couldn’t be more appropriate than in relation to the circumstances Jasmine Ware of the Sacramento High girls basketball team has faced.

When the 3.2 GPA UC Santa Barbara-bound student-athlete was a sophomore, her mother, Darlene Ware, passed away.

This year, after getting off to a solid start to begin her senior season, the 5-foot-10 guard/forward injured her knee and initially was thought to be done for the season.

Ware ended up missing 10 games on what turned out to be a bruised bone in her knee.

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Important announcement from Cal-Hi Sports | Archived Cal-Hi Sports content

With All-American Brandon Ashley starring at Findlay Prep, Bishop O’Dowd remains a threat for D3 state title behind Washington State-bound Richard Longrus Jr.

Four-year varsity basketball player Richard Longrus from Bishop O’Dowd of Oakland was all grins and smiles until it came time to take his picture.

“That’s not me,” he told teammates who teased him about his serious look for the camera.

Maybe it’s because Longrus takes much of his business on and off the court very seriously.

Last week, just prior to Senior Night when the Dragons posted an 88-39 Hayward Area Athletic League victory over Hayward, the 6-foot-7, 210-pound Washington State bound 4.06 GPA student-athlete was presented with a plaque.

The reason is that earlier this month Longrus broke the school’s all-time career rebounding mark of 797 held by 1982 Mr. Basketball State Player of the Year Tony Jackson.

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Important announcement from Cal-Hi Sports | Archived Cal-Hi Sports content

Emotional leader of nation’s No. 12-ranked team ready to join 1,500-point and 1,000-rebound club. She and her twin sister are the pair to go with team’s Plum.

Maya Hood of the nationally ranked La Jolla Country Day girls basketball team near San Diego doesn’t get the hype of teammate and junior phenom Kelsey Plum, but the reality is that the 5-foot-10 senior who plays like a girl 6-foot-3 is the heart and soul of the team.

“She’s a tremendous leader, our emotional and physical leader,” said 13-year La Jolla Country Day Coach Terri Bamford of her player who is headed to the University of San Diego.

The “double-double” as Bamford calls her, or “my-oh-my” as she’s known by teammates and friends, can score and rebound as well.

Last week on Senior Night, Hood poured in 29 points and grabbed 12 rebounds with three steals and two assists in a 77-25 win over league rival San Diego Horizon.

As a result of that performance, a season that shows her with eight double-doubles, and an approximate 3.3 GPA, Hood joins Plum, who won the award last year, as an ESPNHS Cal-Hi Sports State Athlete of the Week.

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Important announcement from Cal-Hi Sports | Archived Cal-Hi Sports content

Gokul Natesan will end up No. 2 on the Cupertino all-time scoring list behind Kurt Rambis and knows when to take over a game. He’s perhaps even more impressive academically with a 4.38 GPA.

It was late in the third quarter and the Cupertino boys basketball team only led visiting Los Gatos 32-27 when star player Gokul Natesan got even busier than he already had been.

Natesan (pronounced Nah-tay-san) already had 19 of his team’s points, but then he completely took over. He scored off a steal, then drained an NBA-range 3-pointer to make it 39-31 entering the final period.

Gokul started the first two minutes of the fourth quarter with a block and a basket off a steal, another steal, another block and another NBA-length trey ball that pretty much sealed a 58-41 victory.

Even the Cal-Hi Sports caravan’s presence at the Wednesday night game earlier this week couldn’t kibosh Natesan’s performance. The 6-foot-3 senior finished with 31 points on six 3-pointers, five rebounds, five steals, three assists and three blocks.

Last week, in a 54-47 win on the road at De Anza League rival Palo Alto, the 4.38 GPA student-athlete had 32 points and drained seven 3-pointers.

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Important announcement from Cal-Hi Sports | Archived Cal-Hi Sports content

She’s only 5-foot-7, but Workman’s Evelyn Herrera plays with a gigantic heart and has overcome a lot to become one of the state’s leading scorers.

It’s not often a 5-foot-7 girls basketball player gets credit for invigorating a community, particularly a girl who has only been in town less than two years, but that’s what Evelyn Herrera from Workman of the City of Industry has done.

Not only has Evelyn energized the atmosphere at Workman, she’s living proof that big things really do come in small packages and has literally put the girls basketball program on the map.

Last week, in a 71-30 victory over Bassett of La Puente, Herrera had 29 points, 10 steals and eight assists. She also had 26 points and eight rebounds in a 69-45 triumph against Sierra Vista of Baldwin Park.

It was the 11th straight and 20th overall game this season the CIF Southern Section’s second-leading scorer has been over 20 points for the Lobos, who were 18-4 heading into this week.

Now, for performances all season on the court and in school, plus for overcoming extreme adversity, the young woman, who along with her mother and brother moved to City of Industry to escape the turmoil of East Los Angeles, has been named the ESPNHS Cal-Hi Sports State Athlete of the Week.

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