St. Francis High led the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League with four first team selections, the coaches of the league recently announced.
Catcher Derric Estrada-Haro, pitchers Chase Watkins and C.J. Gomez and outfielder Josiah Granados-Diaz all earned a spot on the All-SCCAL First Team after helping the Sharks to a second-place finish in the league and a runner-up finish in the Central Coast Section Division III playoffs.
Aptos High senior pitcher/infielder David Reckers also made the All-SCCAL First Team for leading the Mariners to a tie for second in the league with St. Francis.
Estrada-Haro, a senior, led the Sharks in hits (22), RBIs (24), doubles (8), homers (4) and scored runs (20).
A senior lefty headed to Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, Watkins posted a 5-3 record and a 1.83 earned run average over nine appearances. He also led the Sharks in strikeouts (72) over 49 2/3 innings.
Gomez, a junior right-hander, was a nice surprise for the Sharks, who were desperate in need of a No. 2 starter behind Watkins. He recorded a 1.58 ERA over nine appearances and struck out 48 batters.
Granados-Diaz starred in his first varsity season with the Sharks. The junior led the team in batting average (.345) and was second in hits (20), RBIs (14) and doubles (4). On defense, he was a sure glove, making no errors on 24 chances.
Reckers, who is headed to Cal State Bakersfield in the fall, was a star for the Mariners during his fourth varsity season. He led the team in batting average (.379), hits (25), RBIs (19) and doubles (5), while also finishing with a 3.42 ERA in 14 appearances on the mound.
SCCAL champion Santa Cruz High swept the league’s major awards. First baseman Javy Felix was named the Player of the Year, Clayton Ray was tabbed as the league’s Pitcher of the Year and Dustin Torchio won Coach of the Year.
Aptos sophomores Jacob Mendoza and Luke Keaschall made the All-SCCAL Second Team and St. Francis’ senior David Talavera also earned a spot on the squad.
Four local players were given honorable mention: Will Murphy (Aptos, Sr.), Curtis McMullen (Aptos, Sr.), Josh Kovacs (St. Francis, Sr.) and Julian Mendoza (St. Francis, Jr.).
