ESCARCEGA ON PREPS: A FINAL LOOK BACK AT THE 2022 SOFTBALL SEASON
A look back on a season that will be remembered for years to come.
Steve Gewecke watching his daughter Kasssandra pitch in a CIF Southern Section Div. 4 championship game in Irvine (Escarcega)
Steve Gewecke is widely considered one of the living legends when it comes to baseball in the San Gabriel Valley. He won numerous league championships, coached high-level players, and has seen the evolution of the game that once relied on power and strength to its current state of finesse and pitching.
However, the one thing he couldn’t pull off was winning a CIF Southern Section championship. He came about as close as you can get when he led Alhambra to an all-SGV final against Bonita in Div. 3. at Dodger Stadium. However, it was not meant to be at the Bearcats captured the title with a 5-1 victory.
So, you can understand the anxiety that Gewecke was going through on Friday, May 20th at Deanna Manning Stadium in Irvine when his daughter Kassandra took the circle in a championship game against top-seeded Moorpark. On this day, he didn’t have to worry about the ghosts of the past as Bonita had just won a sectional title in the game prior to the Div. 4 final.
Just as he had all season long, you had to look long and hard to find Gewecke in the stands. Unlike most parents these days who would find a place along the fence to get a close look at the action, Steve chose to stand in the background. Most of the time, he would watch the action in the outfield, with his son Kellen (whom he coached in high school), in proximity.
It was a deal that he made with the family. He would be Kellen’s coach in high school and play a critical role in his development on and off the field. That would not be the case with Kassandra. He would be forced to watch the action from the stands, offer no advice, and basically become a parent watching each game helplessly.
All you had to know was that for Gewecke, his actions showed that he was well beyond his comfort zone. It didn’t take long for him to stand up from his folding chair, pace up and down along the grass and keep his thoughts to himself. It would be much like a lion being held in a cage knowing that he is not just hungry, he’s starving.
Funny thing kept happening, though. Kassandra was not just winning games; she was dominating in the circle. The only game she lost prior to a CIF State regional final game was against rival Arcadia, with a roster that included two players headed to Oregon State University.
When the Rio Hondo League season started, Kassandra turned up the pressure. She handled each assignment like a senior ready to go to college. And while most predicted that San Marino would give the Rams all they could handle in their first matchup, Kassandra quieted their powerhouse lineup by tossing a two-hitter and hitting a home run in a 6-0 win.
This brings us back to that historic day in Irvine. With the outfield not an option to utilize, Gewecke decided to watch the game on the third baseline with Kellen and other longtime friends. With each inning that went by, the hyperactive coach was a bundle of nerves. It’s one thing to coach in a CIF Southern Section championship game when you can affect the flow of a game. It’s another thing when you are forced to the sidelines with no power.
And if you think it was easy for Gewecke to watch the action, you’d be wrong. “It was hard,” Gewecke said. “When you’re in the outfield, you can say a few words quietly and no one notices. Not on a day like this. The one thing you have to keep in mind is that these girls invested so much into the season. This was the best defensive team I've ever seen. And I’ve seen some pretty good teams in my career.”
When the final out was secured and teammates rushed the circle to hug Kassandra as part of a celebration of a 4-2 win over Moorpark, Gewecke allowed himself to high-five those closest to him, which include Kellen, and sported a smile of someone that was proud of watching his daughter arrive at the Mt. Everest of the sport. Something he couldn’t achieve as a coach.
When Kassandra was shown the video of his father during the final out in postgame interviews, the charismatic sophomore paused ever so slightly, allowing her mind to process what she had just seen and expressed her appreciation for everything that Steve had done.
“That’s a legend right there and my hero,” Kassandra said. “I love to see something like that. He always tells me that he has my back.”
Approximately 10 minutes after that interview, Kassandra raced up the stairs to a quiet spot along the stands on the right field side of the stadium, found her hero, and give him a hug that lasted for more than a minute and was nice and tight. The duo exchange thoughts into each other’s ears quietly, which was more than appropriate for the moment.
Kassandra also showed that she has a knack for pointing out legends. Two weeks after that CIF Southern Section championship game, Steve was one of two coaches named to the SGV Coaches Hall of Honor prior to this year’s area All-Star Game at South Hills High School.
He can put that plaque next to her championship ring somewhere around the house. It’ll provide a backdrop to the memories that were created in 2022 and consistent proof that he is not the only one that is a legend in the household.
WHITTIER CHRISTIAN’S BROOKLYN CARREON WAS CUT FROM A DIFFERENT CLOTH
Whittier Christian’s Brooklyn Carreon with her family on senior day. (Escarcega)
When historians decide to look back at the career of Whittier Christian’s Brooklyn Carreon, they’ll probably come to the same conclusion that we have, we’ll never see the likes of her again.
Consider this fact, when she was a freshman at the La Habra-based campus, the Heralds were in Division 5. When the curtain rained down on the 2023 season with a narrow loss to La Mirada in the first round of the playoffs, Whittier Christian was in Div. 1. There is no other softball player that can lay claim to this fact and will most likely never will.
There are many ways you can break down Carreon’s unbelievable impact on the Heralds. Here are two numbers that stand out: she struck out 731 hitters in her four years in the circle. And the sad part is that she could have easily eclipsed 800 strikeouts had the season not shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. She also averaged four home runs a season. Most hitters are happy to get two homers, but to average four is absolutely astounding.
It should also come as no surprise that Carreon was mentally in a different place than most players in the area. During the pandemic, instead of off sitting around, watching TV, and eating candy and Ice Cream, Carreon turned the garage of her home into a private workout area. Every day she (or her mother Maria) would tweet out a video of Brooklyn working out.
And it wasn’t doing a few dumbbell curls and that was it. She was doing power cleans, deadlifts, squats, and more. As the saying goes, “She was getting ready to stay ready.”
Did she have her tough moments in the circle – no question. But every pitcher has those types of outings – no one is exempted from those situations. But you can easily say that Carreon leaves the Whittier Christian program in much better shape than it was when she was a freshman.
On the day that the program retired the number of Carreon, Dale Van Duyn stood quietly just outside of the dugout, arms proudly folded, and took in the moment, knowing that for the past four years, he had the best seat in the house.
“I doubt that I will ever have the chance to coach someone as special as Brooklyn,” Van Duyn said. “We never recruited her when she was in 8th grade, but we knew a lot about her. She put us on a ride that all of us will never forget.”
As if you needed any more evidence of the impact that Carreon had on the program and the school, on the day that her number was retired (in a game against Heritage Christian), a nearby hill was filled with fans, players, and parents that played with Carreon on travel ball circuit and school administrators to watch her perform one last time.
Even the baseball team cut their practice short and sat in the visiting stands to watch Carreon play. And I’m not talking about the few members of the team – the entire team stayed to watch her perform and take in the moment.
When she was asked if she understood the impact that she had on the school, Carreon said, “I think I’m starting too. At first, I thought was just playing and I didn’t realize how big a deal It was, especially when you consider that we were moved from Div. 5 to Div. 1. But I couldn’t do it without my teammates and my parents have been my biggest supporters.”
As for the first time she attempted to pitch at a very young age, let’s just say that it didn’t go very well. “It was a tryout and they asked for pitchers,” Carreon said. “I went in and it went bad because I didn’t know what I was doing. I grew up watching my sister play, so I decided to give it a shot. After that, my parents decided that we might need a pitching coach.”
And, as the saying goes, the rest is history.
5 BURNING QUESTIONS FOR THE 2023 SEASON
1. What is your way to early top-5 rankings for next season?
Yeah, this is way too early since many teams figure to get a transfer or two, coaches may be shifting around, but let’s give it a shot.
La Mirada – As they like to say in the stock market, there are lots to like here. Make no mistake about it, the loss of Alexis Urbina is a tremendous loss. She turned in one of the more dominant efforts in the circle all season for coach Brent Tuttle. Losing Grace Archuleta due to graduation will be a major blow as well. However, the Matadores return one of the best infields in Southern California. They are fast and quick. They have one of the top freshmen in Angelina Ratzlaff along with sophomore Rebecca Eckart. Throw in two more talented freshmen in Angelie Kennedy and Amanda Urbina and this team is stacked in 2023. They should be playing in Div. 2 but will most likely be slotted in Div. 1. One thing you can count on is Tuttle putting together one of the toughest schedules in the area. He is not consumed by his record as much as he is by team development. This team doesn’t rebuild, they reload, and they do with players that reside in the La Mirada area. Mark them as the early team to beat in 2023.
South Hills – Love this team. One of my biggest regrets was not seeing this team in person in 2022, but that will be rectified in 2023. This team has what it takes to win a CIF Southern Section title in 2023 if they remain in Div. 2. First, they sport the consistent power hitter in the area in “Joltin” Joie Economides. She hits home runs at such as high rate, let’s hope coach Ralph Navarro buys extra softball next year. The Huskies also have a very talented sophomore in Jianna Siono and Madilyn Hernandez along with one of the most dominant pitchers in the area in junior Audrey Gallegos. The loss of Madalyn Del Real and Leah Morales due to graduation will be a setback, but you must love the composition of the roster. And don’t be surprised if an incoming freshman that we don’t know about will come in and add more ingredients to an already overflowing pot of soup. Expectations will be high on Barranca Blvd.
Bonita – What a year for the Bearcats as they won a CIF Southern Section title and came within one game of playing for a state regional title. The great thing for Bonita fans is that most of the roster returns in 2023. That includes dominant pitcher Brooklyn Shroyer, her sister Bryce Shroyer, power-hitting Alyssa Doucette, Kailey Scott, Mireya Rico, and Sofia Ortiz. It was Doucette that delivered the biggest hit of the season with a home run in the late stages of the Bearcats’ win over Sunny Hills that proved to be the biggest difference in the playoff run. As with all teams, Bonita lost some important players due to graduation, but you have to make them the early favorites to win the Palomares League title. As for another deep playoff run…. We tackle that subject later in the column.
Arcadia – There is no team within this group of five that will be hurt the most by graduation more than the Apaches. Arcadia bides a fond goodbye to Morgan Howey, who will be playing softball at Oregon State University. She was probably the most dominant offensive player in the east region of the valley. But the Apaches return one of the elite softball players in the area in Tiara Westbrook. You can make a very strong case that she is the best all-around player in the valley – yes, even better than Temple City’s Kassandra Gewecke. What separates her from the rest of the players in the area is her prowess at the plate. Westbrook can change the flow of a game with one swing – and not many players in the area can do that. The biggest revelation for me was the development of sophomore pitcher Sophia Herrera. She looked very solid in Arcadia’s win over St. Paul earlier in the season. She’s going to be a good one. Throw in returning starters Virginia Garcia-Torres, Amya Ennist, and Giselle Lai, and you can understand why coach Al Gillis is very excited about the 2023 season.
5. Temple City – Just like with the area teams in baseball, you can insert teams such as Bishop Amat, Sonora, Glendora, Whittier Christian, La Habra, Schurr, and several others and you would have a compelling case. For me, it all comes back to Kassandra Gewecke. She is simply the most dominant pitcher in the west region of the valley returning and look for her to be bigger, faster, and stronger in the circle, which is very scary. She was truly “Kass Money” in 2022 and that narrative figures not to change in 2023. Much like the teams on this list, most of the lineup returns for the coaching combination of Eric Arrelola and Allison Moranchel. They include two of their more prolific hitters in Sheridan Gonzalez and Samantha Womack. Giselle Sasaki and May Arias-Gonzalez also return for the Rams from the starting lineup. It’s very easy to project the Rams to win another Rio Hondo League title – but another deep run in the playoffs… that’s a totally different animal altogether.
2. How good is the pitching going to be next year?
Bonita’s Brooklyn Shroyer headlines an outstanding group of pitchers returning for the 2023 season. (Escarcega)
Outstanding.
Obviously, you already know about Bonita’s Shroyer, Temple City’s Gewecke, and Arcadia’s powerful 1-2 punch of Herrera and Westbrook. Here are some other pitchers to watch in 2023
- Emma Mendizabal (Schurr, 17-2, 0.25 ERA)
- Bridgette Nemeth (Glendora, 11-5, 1.59)
- Priscilla Ramirez (4-1, 1.83) and Isabella Ramos (3-2, 3.21) of California
- Gabby Gomez (5-4, 3.69) and Abbey Duarte (7-8, 3.55) of St. Paul
- Elle Leckrone (La Canada, 10-3, 1.65)
- Alyssa Garcia (Duarte, 18-3, 1.63)
- Destiny Magallon (Edgewood, 14-5, 4.16)
And they’ll be more on this list after the summer season of club softball. But the narrative is clear that hitters will have a lot of work to do if they want to be successful in 2023.
3. Who is your surprise team for the 2023 season?
If California can escape Div. 1 and move into Div. 2, they are the most dangerous team next season. The Condors fielded one of the youngest lineups in the area but that didn’t stop them from winning a Del Rio League title. Do you know how many seniors the Condors had in their starting lineup? ZERO!
That’s right! It means that hitters 1 thru 9 return and thus make them the most dangerous teams to challenge our top five teams that we have listed. The Condors have one of the most dominant 1-2 pitching combinations in the area in Priscilla Ramirez and Isabella Ramos. They were excellent in 2022 and figure to show more improvement in 2023.
California also has two of the more prolific hitters in the area in Jayda Maldonado and Valerie Vasquez (both sophomores) and Isabella Salas is on the short list of top freshmen hitters in Southern California. In case you are wondering that batting positions 1, 2, and 4. We could go on and on, but if the Condors can escape Div. 1, they will be one of the serious contenders to win a Div. 2 title.
4. Which teams will be making a huge jump in divisions when CIF-SS releases its divisions in the fall?
Well, it’s tough for me to say this, but it looks as if Bonita and Temple City are destined for Div. 1. You must remember that Whittier Christian made the same jump after the 2021 season, and there is no reason to believe that it will not happen to the Bearcats and the Rams. Truthfully, both teams should be in Div. 2, making it one of the most fascinating divisions in the area. But, in my opinion, that will not be the case.
La Serna’s win over Huntington Beach should be enough to keep the Lancers in Div. 1 and La Mirada is also projected to stay in Div. 1 thanks to their win over Whittier Christian and a better-than-looked loss to Corona Santiago.
The big question is whether California and South Hills stay in Div. 2. We can see the Condors dropping and the Huskies moving up to Div. 1. And we can also see Arcadia being bumped up a division as well. Like we mentioned earlier, if the Condors are dropped to Div. 2 – LOOK OUT!
5. With the deteriorating situation with parents and umpires, what changes are needed so that the situation can be rectified?
This one is easy and received a lot of positive feedback when I mentioned it in the baseball column on Monday. In my opinion, it’s time for school officials to close off the stands behind the plate and place fans past the first and third base dugouts and/or in the outfield.
With the stands so close to home plate, it's easy for parents to get all over the umpires and say the wrong thing. It happened in the San Dimas vs. Arcadia baseball game along with countless other games throughout the season.
You see this happening in softball as most parents watch the game from behind the outfield fences and, if the Temple City vs. St. Anthony’s game was any indication from personal experience, it reduces the verbal confrontations that are taking place from behind home plate.
The only people that would be allowed in the “bleachers” would be school officials and media members. Another advantage is that it would allow umpires to leave without having to have any possible physical contact with umpires. I know that this is harsh, but it is getting extraordinarily old to see parents treat high school games as if it’s game 7 of the World Series. This move would not be perfect, but it is needed to help keep umpires working games these days.
One more thing...
In case you have noticed, softball players are way more active on social media than baseball players… and it’s not even close.
These talented ladies have learned the art of posting video highlights of their games on Twitter, Tic Tok, and Instagram and know how to tag the right people. One of the better softball players that gets an “A” in my grade book is Schurr High School pitcher Emma Mendizabal.
I can’t tell you how many times I’d be in the final stages of polishing off a roundup and I would get a Twitter notification from Emma with video highlights. It was very clutch and very impressive. If you need any more evidence as to the prowess of these ladies, check out the timeline of my good friend Carlos Arias of Extra Innings Softball (@Los_Stuff) on Twitter.
So, as we enter another fascinating offseason, let’s tip our caps to the softball players that have clearly mastered their cell phone apps and continue to post outstanding content on social media. Hey, if you want to tag me (@James_Escarcega) … feel free. You can always count on a retweet.
Baseball players, the ball is literally in your court.
Have a great offseason!