Eight Vikings reap Coast Conference postseason honors

(L to R): Shelby White, America Maples, Maddie Grissom, Kassady Alcazar, Michelle Gonzales, Emma Courtney, Emeila Araiza, Sydney Heming
(L to R): Shelby White, America Maples, Maddie Grissom, Kassady Alcazar, Michelle Gonzales, Emma Courtney, Emeila Araiza, Sydney Heming
Posted: May 11, 2022

The season may be over the the West Valley softball team, but the postseason awards are just beginning to roll in. Eight Vikings were named to the All-Coast honor roll, WVC coach Vicky Piatt announced this week.

Maddie Grissom heads up a trio of All-Coast 1st teamers. The second-year outfielder, who'll be continuing her career at UC Davis, wrapped up her career in Saratoga by leading the team in six offensive categories. She slashed (AVG/OBP/SLG) .386/.449/.728, hit six home runs, had 39 RBI and 15 doubles. Grissom also had a perfect 1.000 fielding %, commiting no errors in 71 total chances. For her career, Grissom slashed .384/.446/.730, slugged nine HRs, knocked in 54 runs, had 18 doubles, five triples, stole nine bases and scored 44 runs.

Joining Grissom on the 1st team were pitchers America Maples and Shelby White. Maples led the team in wins (9), ERA (1.72), strikeouts (111) and K/7 (7.96). In two years, Maples has gone 16-7, with 193 K's (8.41 K/7) and a 1.92 ERA. First-year hurler White posted seven wins, a team-high 108 innings pitched, a 2.66 ERA and 97 strikeouts (6.29 K/7) in a team-leading 15 starts.

Second-year outfielder Michelle Gonzales leads a quintet, the other four are all first-year players, of Viking All-Coast 2nd teamers. Gonzales posted a .300/.407/.500 slash line, along with 13 RBI, four doubles, three stolen bases, 19 runs scored and a team-high four triples, despite missing 11 games to injury. Infielder Kassady Alcazar slashed .298/.394/.482, was second on the team in homers (3), doubles (8) and RBI (24), and topped the squad in stolen bases (14) and runs scored (36). Despite missing seven games to injury, Emelia Araiza was an explosive left-handed slapper who slashed .376/.434/.495, hit a pair of HRs, drove in 19 runs, stole 10 bases and scored 26 runs.

Outfielder Emma Courtney scored 17 runs, stole nine bases, had 12 RBI and slashed .304/.424/.333. Rounding out the WVC 2nd-team contingent is infielder Sydney Heming. Usually batting third in the lineup, Heming was second on WVC in RBI (24) and slashed .333/.367/.404, to go along with a homer, a triple, three doubles, six stolen bases and 28 runs scored.

The 2022 Viking finished third in the competitive Coast, going 23-17 overall, 8-5 in conference play. The Vikings secured the #13 seed in the CCCAA playoffs, before falling at #3 Sierra in the NorCal regionals.