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June 24, 2021
BY LOREN KOPFF • @LORENKOPFF ON TWITTER
To say that the 2021 CIF-Southern Section high school softball season was unusual would be a huge understatement. Through all the changing of the schedules because of the late start and the rare late finishes to the season, teams made the most of it and are rewarded for their accomplishments during this difficult time. Cerritos High and La Mirada High repeated as league champions while John Glenn High ended an exceptionally long playoff drought with basically a rookie team. Here are the latest members of the 2021 HMG-CN softball All-Area Team.
FIRST TEAM
P-Valerie Alvarez (Gahr High)
P-Erin Gibbs (Cerritos High)
C-Quinn Livesay (Valley Christian)
1B-Samiya Jones (Cerritos High)
2B-Katelyn Caneda (Cerritos High)
3B-Josie Dipillo (La Mirada High)
SS-Jadyn Nielsen (Cerritos High)
LF-Hailey Sanchez (Gahr High)
CF-Kristalyn Romulo (Gahr High)
RF-Camille Lara (Cerritos High)
SECOND TEAM
P-Gabby Ortega (John Glenn High)
P-Aleyna Urbina (La Mirada High)
C-Sienna Contreras (John Glenn High)
1B-Savannah Adams (La Mirada High)
2B-Mika Huskey (Gahr High)
3B-Marley Cortez (Gahr High)
SS-Taylor Stephens (Gahr High)
LF-Layla Monteon (La Mirada High)
CF-Lauren Lejano (Cerritos High)
RF-Skylar Sanchez (Gahr High)
THIRD TEAM
P-Jailynn Banda (Norwalk High)
P-Maya Torres (Artesia High)
C-Toafaoalii Pua (Cerritos High)
1B-Anais Perez (John Glenn High)
2B-Dominique Ford (La Mirada High)
3B-Makayla Sur (Cerritos High)
SS-Alexa Sams (La Mirada High)
LF-Azalea Herrera (Cerritos High)
CF-Diana Bravo (John Glenn High)
RF-Natalia Hill (Gahr High)
HONORABLE MENTION
P-Chelsea Azevedo (Valley Christian)
P-Ashley Benavides (Gahr High)
C-Vanessa Soto (Artesia High)
1B-Shaylin Riddell-Perez (Artesia)
2B-Janessa Leal (John Glenn High)
3B-Julia Cole (John Glenn High)
SS-Beatriz Galvez (John Glenn High)
LF-Sophia Magcale (Gahr High)
CF-Rebecca Joy-Simbol (Whitney)
RF-Gladdi Nagao (Valley Christian)
Player of the Year: Junior Jadyn Nielsen of Cerritos High can just about do everything when she steps onto the softball field. The shortstop led the Lady Dons with a .535 batting average, one of three Cerritos players to hit over .500, had 38 hits, a .693 on base percentage and stole 30 bases. Nielsen also had a fielding percentage of .918 and had five errors in 61 total chances at her position.
Pitcher of the Year: If she wanted to, Cerritos junior Erin Gibbs could have pitched every inning of every game this season. Instead, she pitched all but 18 and two-thirds innings as she helped the Lady Dons to a 22-2 record. Gibbs went 20-2 and posted an earned run average south of 1.30 and was involved in 13 games in which Cerritos did not allow a run.
Coach of the Year: There might be a changing of the guard in the 605 League in the next several years if John Glenn High’s Larry Leal has something to say about it. He guided the Lady Eagles to a 10-6 record and a trip to the Division 7 quarterfinals. It was the first time since 1990 that Glenn had reached the playoffs and the third time since 1999 that the program had experienced a winning record. On top of that, Glenn fielded a team of 10 freshmen, two juniors and one sophomore.
