Martorella igniting Cal baseball
Salinas High grad Nathan Martorella put together a fourgame weekend series for the ages for the Cal baseball team, hitting a pair of home runs while knocking in nine runs, including the game-winner in one game.
The 2019 Herald Male Athlete of the Year, Martorella hit both homers in one game, including a grand slam against St. Mary’s, driving in seven runs.
Martorella, a member of The Herald’s All-County football and baseball teams while at Salinas High, lifted a sacrifice fly the following day to give the Bears another win.
Through 12 games, the freshman first baseman is hitting .228 with 11 runs batted in. He has walked seven times and has yet to commit an error in the field.
Teammate and Palma grad Sam Stoutenborough sports a 1.79 earned run average in 15 plus innings for Cal, with 11 strikeouts.
Stoutenborough allowed just three hits in seven innings of relief in his last outing. The sophomore was The Herald’s Baseball Player of the Year in 2017.
Solid first collegiate season for Stevenson grad Driscoll
Luke Driscoll carved a name for himself in his first collegiate season for the Baldwin Wallace men’s basketball team in Ohio, shooting a team-high 56.1 percent from the field in the regular season.
The former Stevenson guard also knocked down 50 percent of his attempts from beyond the 3-point arc to lead the Yellowjackets.
Driscoll, the Herald’s co-Player of the Year in 2020 in basketball, averaged 7.5 points in just over 20 minutes a night on the hardwood.
The 6-foot sharpshooter also averaged nearly two assists and two rebounds a night. A sixth man at the start of the season, Driscoll started the last two games.
Ramos a demon on defense at Southeastern Louisiana
Spring football is an opportunity and Alexis Ramos is making the most of it, having recorded 16 tackles in Southeastern Louisiana’s first two games.
The former Alisal High and Hartnell College linebacker lit up anyone carrying the ball for McNeese State recently with a team-high 11 tackles and a fumble recovery in the Lions’ first win.
Ramos led Southeastern Louisiana in tackles in 2019 with 80 in 13 games, earning second-team All-Southland Conference honors.
The 6-foot-2, 230-pound 21-year-old was the Coast Conference Defensive Most Valuable Player in 2018 at Hartnell College.
Stewart in the rotation in the circle at Utah State
Freshman Jessica Stewart has made nine appearances — six starts in the circle — in Utah State’s first 17 games this spring.
The former Salinas High ace is 3-3 on the season with a 3.88 earned run average, striking out 30 in 43 innings of work for Utah State (8-9).
The 5-foot-9 right-handed hurler has allowed just one run in her last 11 innings, pitching a complete game against the University of San Diego, giving up just three hits.
Stewart led Salinas to a Pacific Division title as a freshman in 2017 and was the Pitcher of the Year.
Flawless start for Boatman on the mound this spring
Coming off six shutout innings of two-hit baseball, Nic Boatman has yet to allow a run this year for the Fresno Pacific baseball team.
The former Pacific Grove hurler struck out seven in his last outing for Fresno. In two appearances, the right-hander has 10 strikeouts in eight innings.
Boatman was the Mission Trail Athletic League’s Pitcher of the Year in 2015, pitching the program to a league title.
Bruno, Riggenbach a glimpse of the future and present at Portland State
Senior Marissa Bruno, from Santa Catalina, and freshman Logan Riggenbach, from Notre Dame High, have been bright spots early this spring for the Portland State softball team.
Bruno, who led the team in hitting last year, leads the Vikings in runs scored, walks and steals through eight games and is second in runs batted in with three.
Riggenbach has made four starts in the outfield for Portland State, hitting .333, driving in her first college run last week.
A four-year starter and three-time member of The Herald’s All-County softball team at Santa Catalina, Bruno has yet to commit an error in the outfield. Riggenbach was a member of The Herald’s AllCounty softball and volleyball teams at Notre Dame.
CJS Sports Academy basketball signups
Sign-ups are being taken for the CJS Sports Academy traveling basketball teams for boys and girls, grades 4th-12th. Contact Chris Jackson at coach@ cjssportsacedmy.com or 831794-1595.