The Amador Valley girls softball team opened North Coast Section play with a pair of wins last week.
The Dons started the week with a 9-0 thumping of Mt. Eden behind a no-hitter by pitcher Danielle Williams, who struck out 20 in the game en route to the no-no.
With the Monarchs’ bats in check, the Dons rapped out 10 hits, including a home run from Mia Hildebrand. She also added a pair of singles and drove in four runs for the Dons.
Allyson Kim had a double and pair of singles to add to the attack and drove in a run as well. Malia Konig also had a double and drove in a pair of runs. Williams, Bridget Aguilar and Julia Camello also added hits.
Williams and Aguilar also drove in runs.
Two days later the Dons were at it again, this time with Williams allowing only two hits and striking out 12 batters in a 5-0 Amador win over Castro Valley.
Konig and Williams each drove in two runs, with Aguilar also driving in a run. Williams had a pair of doubles, with Mia Hildebrand and Aguilar adding one each.
Halle Uhl, Kim, Chloe Engel and Maddie Hildebrand added hits for the Dons.
Foothill softball
After receiving a first-round bye, the EBAL champion Foothill Falcons opened with a 4-0 win over California.
The Falcons retired the Grizzlies in order in the top of the first with two great defensive plays from Ellen Ebbers, and then scored three in the bottom of the inning.
With Hope Alley and Hailey Hayes on and one out, Courtney Beaudin connected with her seventh home run of the season.
The Grizzlies put multiple runners in scoring position in the second and third but were unable bring them home as the Falcon defense held.
Foothill added their fourth run in the sixth on a solo home run from Lauren Hermes. Ebbers was the defensive star of the game responsible for six total outs. Nicole May recorded nine strikeouts while giving up three hits and one walk.
Foothill honors athletes
Last week, Foothill honored 28 athletes at the 2018 Foothill Senior Committed Athletes Luncheon.
The event was co-hosted by Foothill Athletic Boosters and Foothill’s Leadership program with catering provided by Eddie Papa’s.
The honored athletes included Emily Balicanta (diving, Boston University), Madison Baxter (basketball, UC San Diego), Harrison Carter (water polo, Cal Baptist), Madi Dagen (gymnastics, Oregon State), Colin Dixon (baseball, DVC), Brett Hansen (baseball, Vanderbilt), Ava Haase (swimming, UNLV), Jake Jackson (football, DVC), Jovian Johnson (football, Laney College), Carson King (football, Santa Monica), Justin Lavell (baseball, Ohlone), Jeremy Lea (baseball, UOP) and Cole Lukas (rowing, Washington).
Also recognized were Donovan Mayer (football, Laney College), JT McDermott (basketball, Whitworth), Emily McElroy (water polo, Scripps), Sarah Mirr (soccer, Loyola-Maryland), Sam Novitske (baseball, Oregon), Andrea Paduraru (beach volleyball, UC Berkeley), Dylan Pottgieser (baseball, UOP), Ramon Sahagun (football, DVC), Tessie Scavone (swimming, Azusa Pacific), Erin Schafer (lacrosse, Brown), Michael Smith (basketball, Longwood), Drake Southern (swimming and water polo, Las Positas), Nicole Thornton (softball, Ohlone), Madison Weiglein (water polo, San Diego State) and Ben Wooldridge (football, Fresno State).
Top athletes/teams
This week I look back at former Foothill quarterback Sean Mannion.
The 2010 graduate may turn out to be the best quarterback to come out of the city of Pleasanton. A three-year varsity team member, Mannion blew up the stats his senior year, throwing for over 3,500 yards, including a 600-yard performance against James Logan.
From Foothill, Mannion went to Oregon State and by the time he graduated, he was the all-time passing leader for the Pac-12. Mannion is currently a backup quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams.
In addition to his excellence on the field, Mannion was also one of the nicest, most down-to-earth kids I’ve had the pleasure of writing about.
Editor’s note: Dennis Miller is a contributing sports writer for the Pleasanton Weekly. To contact Miller or submit local high school sports scores, game highlights and photographs for his weekly Pleasanton Preps column, email him at acesmag@aol.com.
