Peninsula Prep Baseball
The final pitch has been thrown in the regular season. The Central Coast Section selection committee will pick the 48 schools that will be bracketed into six eight-team tournaments on Monday.
On Tuesday, the coaches in each league will begin picking their all-league teams and players of the year. While we have no say in how they'll vote, we've seen enough baseball this spring to have an opinion on who stood out to us.
The coaches might think differently, but here's how we see it. We expect the coaches will have some different opinions, as will you. Feel free to drop us a note to tell us why we're wrong.
Hugo Guzman, left, strung together a solid senior season at Hillsdale, while Sequoia's Morgan Winfield tied for the Peninsula lead with nine home runs. Photos courtesy of Hugo Guzman Sr. and Stan Hui.
Peninsula Athletic League-Bay Division
Pitcher of the Year Finalists: Hugo Guzman, Hillsdale; Jabob Shinseki, Carlmont; Nash Trautwein, Burlingame.
The winner: Hugo Guzman. The senior right-hander was the most consistent player on a Hillsdale team that struggled for consistency. Guzman put together a 5-0 season with a 1.57 earned-run average. He struck out 51 batters in more than 53 innings of work.
Player of the Year Finalists: Nate Plata, The King's Academy; Morgan Winfield, Sequoia; Chuck Wynn, Menlo School.
Our Choice: Morgan Winfield. The power-hitting senior finished with nine home runs, tying him with a Wynn for the most on the Peninsula. He also drove in 30 runs and had an on-base percentage of .532.
Half Moon Bay's Kai Kung and Sacred Heart Prep's Nico Pollioni had strong senior seasons. Photos courtesy of HMB Instagram and Parnell Pollioni.
Peninsula Athletic League-Ocean Division
Pitcher of the Year Finalists: Rallin Covey, Sacred Heart Prep; Kai Kung, Half Moon Bay; Christian Louie, San Mateo.
Our Choice: Kai Kung. Half Moon Bay's second-place finish in the Ocean Division was fueled by the senior lefty, who posted a 10-1 record with a 0.79 earned-run average. He struck out 93 batters in 71 innings.
Player of the Year Finalists: Riley Jackson, Half Moon Bay; Christian Louie, San Mateo; Nico Pollioni, Sacred Heart Prep.
Our Choice: Nico Pollioni. The Santa Clara signee hit .458 with 38 hits and 28 runs scored and 18 stolen bases from his leadoff position. He also played catcher and was the Gators' on-field leader, while also serving as the team's closer.
Ethan Williams won a Peninsula's-best 11 games this season without a loss, while Brady Simon scored 42 runs for the Wildcats, who ran away with the De Anza Division. Photos courtesy of Dave Simon.
Santa Clara Valley Athletic League-De Anza Division
Pitcher of the Year Finalists: Eliah Loureles, Wilcox; Ethan Williams, Los Gatos; Anders Wood, Los Altos.
Our Choice: Ethan Williams. Much like the De Anza Division title chase, this one was a landslide. The senior right-hander finished the regular season 11-0 with a 0.61 earned- run average. He struck out 90 batters in 57 innings.
Player of the Year Finalist: Carter Bader, Palo Alto; Chase Frolich, Los Gatos; Brady Simon, Los Gatos.
Our Choice: Brady Simon. While Frolich had a magical season with a school-record 44 RBI, Simon was the guy in scoring position many of those times. The senior centerfielder hit .472 and scored 42 runs. His on-base percentage of .587 was second-best on the Peninsula.
Brody Laroque tied Los Gatos' Ethan Williams with 11 wins, while Archer Horn showed off all five tools for St. Ignatius Prep this spring. Photos courtesy of GBuckPhotos.
West Catholic Athletic League
Pitcher of the Year Finalists: Kyle McMillan, Saint Francis; Brady Larocque, Saint Francis; Jacob Vines, Sacred Heart Cathedral.
Our Choice: Brody Larocque. How do you choose between teammates who combined for 21 wins, 130 strikeouts and just 10 earned runs in 124 innings? We went with the senior. Larocque was 11-1 with a 0.71 earned-run average.
Player of the Year Finalists: Archer Horn, St. Ignatius Prep; Vincent Kim, Bellarmine; Jack Leeper, Saint Francis.
Our Choice: Archer Horn. While Saint Francis won a league title, it has five players who had good enough years to be considered for the award. Horn wasn't a one-man team, either, but he hit six homers with an on-base percentage of .583 and stole 16 bases. That while deal with the added pressure of being the Peninsula's best player.
Members Discussion