Prep softball, baseball rankings: East Nicolaus is new No. 1; Gunter wins 500th at VCA

Three of the first four teams in The Bee’s previous Top 20 high school softball rankings suffered losses last week, all except East Nicolaus, the new No. 1 ranked team.

The Spartans of Sutter County have made a statement that they are the best in the region with deep overall talent, arguably the best pitching staff, and a presence at the plate. The only team standing in their way with a chance to hand them a loss is Northern Section rival Sutter, ranked No. 8.

When those teams meet in nonleague action Thursday afternoon at Sutter, it will be a matchup of teams with a combined 42-1-2 record. You can bet the whole town will show up. Both of them.

Strength of schedule is always a factor in rankings. East Nicolaus would likely not have 23 wins if it played in the powerhouse Sierra Foothill or Delta leagues, and nine of the Spartans’ wins have come against teams with losing records. But the Spartans have not lost to any of the seven Bee Top 20 teams they have faced and they have other impressive wins this season. East Nicolaus has beaten Granite Bay, Inderkum twice, Del Oro, Woodcreek, Wheatland, Dixon, Vintage of Napa and Pleasant Valley of Chico. Ponderosa played East Nicolaus to a 1-1 tie in a game called in the 10th inning due to darkness.

East Nicolaus has two Division I college pitchers and power at the plate. Arizona State-bound Meika Lauppe is 16-0 with 132 strikeouts in 83 innings and is one of only two pitchers in the country this season to not allow an earned run, according to statistics inputted by teams into MaxPreps.

Lauppe stroked a three-run home run in a 9-2 win over Inderkum. She has a .391 batting average and often wins the team’s “Hard Hat Award” for her grit and effort with a hard hat placed on her head for postgame photo fun.

Pittsburgh-bound Danni Farris has also been strong for East Nicolaus. She sports an 0.79 ERA and carries a batting average of .561 with six home runs, nine doubles and 25 RBIs. Jerzie Brown leads the team with 12 doubles and a .565 average. In all, nine Spartans are batting .400 or better. Neil Stinson can coach, and he can schedule, too. He’s played Sacramento area teams eight times, and six of those have been home games.

Around the league races

▪ Previous No. 1 Whitney lost two SFL games last week, confirming the strength and balance of the Sac-Joaquin Section’s top league. Granite Bay’s Avery Seva’s ERA is 0.91, fifth in the section. Del Oro beat Whitney to secure a postseason slot, then lost to Oak Ridge 15-4. Each team left over 20 runners on base in that game. Freshman Kate Brown homered for Del Oro to solidify third place in the SFL, a game behind Granite Bay and just behind Whitney with three to play.

▪ In the Delta League, Pleasant Grove kept pace with first-place Franklin. Pitcher Maddie Lawson is third in the section with an ERA of 0.74 and fourth in strikeouts. Franklin’s only three losses came in a five-day span in mid-April, all to good teams, with Pleasant Grove coming for a visit on Friday. Shortstop Sakora Harvell is having a fine year for defending D-I section champion Sheldon. She leads the team in batting average (.476,) hits (35), RBIs (29) doubles (12) and home runs (5).

▪ In the Foothill Valley League, Ponderosa is 7-0 with a two-game lead. The Bruins have both second-place teams on their schedule in Oakmont and West Park. Oakmont and Lincoln are both 4-2. West Park is 3-3 looking for the Zebras or Vikings to stumble, because only three teams from the FVL are invited to the playoffs.

▪ In the Pioneer Valley League, Sutter is the champion with a 10-0 record. Sutter’s only loss this season was 1-0 to powerhouse Huntington Beach (22-5). Jennesa Conway of Marysville is batting .714, second best in the section, to go with eight home runs. Wheatland’s Brisies Botonis has 10 home runs.

▪ In the Capital Athletic League, freshman sensation Ayla Tuua has led a surge at Capital Christian and has been every bit as good as advertised in the circle with a 3-0 record and a 1.26 ERA. She is hitting .676 with 10 home runs and 41 RBI.

▪ In the Capital Valley Conference, Woodcreek is on top with an 8-1 record, losing only a 2-1 game to Roseville in March. Woodcreek has a 12-0 win over Inderkum with the rematch set for Tuesday.

▪ In the Golden Empire League, Pioneer and Dixon are tied with one loss each as each team owns a 4-1 win over the other. Four teams from the GEL receive berths, so it will likely be Casa Roble as the third team and Rio Linda battling with Woodland for the fourth slot.

▪ In the Metropolitan Conference, Laguna Creek holds the top spot at 5-1 but has six games looming in a nine-day stretch. Kennedy and River City have the best shot to make the playoffs.

▪ In the Greater Sacramento League, Cordova leads at 6-1 and needs to beat Johnson this week to gain the top seed. West Campus has a good shot at the third seed.

▪ In the Monticello Empire League, Vacaville has won 20 consecutive games since their opening-day loss to Pleasant Valley.

Gunter wins 500th

Brad Gunter Jr. is deeply invested on campus for the little school that achieves big things at Valley Christian in Roseville. His father created the school in 1978 and wanted athletics to be an important extracurricular activity to balance a rigorous academic load.

Gunter won his 500th career baseball game, a 16-0 victory over Western Sierra of Rocklin, and bounds into Tuesday’s home game against surging Leroy Greene Academy in a battle for first place in the Sacramento Metropolitan Athletic League. When Gunter was presented with a framed memento with team photos from over the years with “VCA 500 WINS,” the jovial coach placed his hand over his mouth, moved by the moment.

Gunter’s gritty Lions have won eight Division VII section championships since 2008 with two runner-up finishes, including last season. Gunter in March also coached the VCA boys basketball team to its first section championship, making this an academic year to remember and cherish.

“Just means I’ve been around a long time and had the opportunity to coach some talented student-athletes,” Gunter said. “The marker is good for the program, VCA, alumni and current players, but I value the relationships built during all the wins and losses. All coaches want the W’s, but the journey is what memories are made of. I’ve had a ton of great memories and I’m blessed that all the players allow me to still be a part of their journey.”

Gunter reminded that he would not grind away — the years, teams, wins and losses — without the backing of his wife, Megan, saying, “I couldn’t do any of this without that sweetheart of a lady.”

Jackson Nichols leads VCA with 29 RBI and has a .393 average. He has five home runs and is 2-0 on the mound with a 1.75 ERA. Micah Bertrand has driven in 24 runs.

Stat marvels

▪ Drew Perry of Leroy Greene of Natomas is the section leader with a .750 batting average and 40 RBI, and his five homers are tied for second.

▪ Michah Nicholson of Bradshaw Christian is tied for second in the section with 31 RBI and Donovan Coleman of River City is fourth with 30.

▪ Emmanuel Maxwell and JaLon Johnson of Florin are second and third in the section in stolen bases with 39 and 37, respectively.

▪ Marcus Maeder of Colfax and Cam Staton of Placer are the area leaders in strikeouts with 80. Maeder is the area leader with a 0.16 ERA.

▪ Carson Timothy of Pioneer is second in the area with an 0.38 ERA and Corden Pettey of Whitney is second at 0.40.

▪ The section leaders in pitching wins at 7-0: Nic Abraham of Franklin and Chase Christensen of Rio Americano. Gavin McLendon of Whitney is 7-1.

THE BEE’S TOP 20

Softball

Records entering Monday

1. East Nicolaus (23-0-1)

2. Whitney (15-5)

3. Ponderosa (16-3-1)

4. Pleasant Grove (20-5)

5. Granite Bay (15-6)

6. Vista del Lago (20-2)

7. Franklin (19-3)

8. Sutter (19-1)

9. Oak Ridge (10-8)

10. Del Oro (10-9)

11. Vacaville (17-1)

12. Elk Grove (12-11)

13. Sheldon (13-11)

14. St. Francis (10-10)

15. Woodcreek (13-6-1)

16. Inderkum (16-6)

17. Wheatland (14-8)

18. Pioneer (15-4)

19. Dixon (15-6)

20. Capital Christian (10-3)

Bubble: Christian Brothers (11-5); Cordova (12-4); Folsom (7-11); Marysville (12-6); Oakmont (13-7); Rocklin (9-11); Vacaville Christian (7-0).

— Pete Dufour/PeteBeeSports@gmail.com

THE BEE’S TOP 20

Baseball

Records entering Monday

1. Franklin (24-4)

2. Whitney (20-5)

3. Woodcreek (16-7-1)

4. Oak Ridge (13-10-1)

5. Elk Grove (17-8)

6. Vacaville (17-9)

7. Davis (16-9)

8. Christian Brothers (16-6-1)

9. Rio Americano (19-4)

10. Del Campo (14-11)

11. Jesuit (11-13-1)

12. Vista del Lago (16-8-1)

13. Colfax (20-2)

14. Bradshaw Christian (17-5)

15. Ponderosa (13-8-1)

16. Folsom (10-11-2)

17. McClatchy (16-8)

18. River City (16-10)

19. Woodland (14-3)

20. Pioneer (17-3)

Bubble: Del Oro (12-11); Granite Bay (8-16); Laguna Creek (11-9); Leroy Greene (14-1); Lincoln (13-9); Oakmont (13-12); Placer (13-9); Rocklin (11-14); Roseville (16-8); Sutter (16-5); Valley Christian (11-8); West Park (11-14); Woodland (14-3); Yuba City (14-10).

— Joe Davidson/jdavidson@sacbee.com