By Justin Vigil-Zuniga
Signal Sports Writer
The CIF Southern Section announced its All-Section teams, which featured four of the SCV’s best.
Softball stars Alyssa Ramirez of Saugus and Kate Penberthy of Hart were named to their division’s team.
Matt Quintanar of Hart and Jose Mariano of Valencia were named in the baseball All-Section team.
All four were home run machines for their teams.
Ramirez, a Division 1 selection, broke her school record with 13 bombs in her senior year. The Foothill League Player of the Year will head to Fresno State with one more high school accolade on her resume, with collegiate awards in her sights. The senior was dangerous wherever she played, being an anchor at shortstop and throwing a pair of no-hitters from the circle.
Penberthy also hit 13 dingers, leading her team to a 20-8 record. The junior was also a standout shortstop in one of Hart’s best seasons in recent years. Penberthy is the only baseball/softball All-Section player without a Foothill League title on her resume. However, she already has two All-Section awards as a junior and could easily be considered the favorite for the League MVP award next year.
On the baseball teams, Quintanar would pick up his second consecutive All-Section selection, this year coming in Division 2. The Pepperdine commit was a force at the plate, batting .513 in league play this season. Hart’s star catcher also hit five home runs on the season, including a walk-off grand slam in the Indians’ playoff opener with Royal.
Mariano notched his first All-Section selection in Division 4 after batting .354 with seven doubles. The senior led his team by a mile with nine homers and 39 RBI. Mariano was key in Valencia’s bounce-back season, which ended an extra-inning run away from a trip to the Division 4 Southern Section semifinals. It was a remarkable landing point for a team with a new head coach rebounding out of fourth place last season.
The three seniors show no clear end to their athletic careers in sight, while Penberthy will gear up for potentially her third straight All-Section-worthy season.
