Despite loss, St. Ignatius chasing softball history
They had a chance to make history — win the first West Catholic Athletic League softball title in St. Ignatius history.
But after his team was beaten 5-1 by Valley Christian in Thursday’s league championship game, St. Ignatius coach Derek Johnson had the Wildcats focused on even bigger history: a Central Coast Section crown.
“We just need to lick our wounds, get some rest and get ready for CCS,” Johnson said. “It’s been a great season thus far, and there is potential for much more greatness.”
CCS playoff pairings will be announced Saturday.
With perennial Northern California powers like Mitty and St. Francis, the Wildcats (18-5) have been an also-ran most years in one of the region’s top leagues.
But behind a tremendous senior pitcher — Dartmouthbound Madie Augusto (16-4, 1.02 ERA, 206 strikeouts in 1472⁄3 innings) — and some stellar young players (10 of 14 on the roster are freshmen or sophomores), St. Ignatius has tied a school record for wins.
Thursday was only the second WCAL championship game appearance for the Wildcats, who were 45-47 in the previous four seasons under Johnson.
“Better hitting, great pitching, and we’ve cleaned up our defense,” Johnson said. “Crazy thing, we could easily be 21-2 at this point.”
The Wildcats, ranked sixth by The Chronicle, lost 2-1 at No. 4 Carlmont, 1-0 at No. 7 St. Francis and 3-2 in eight innings at Valley Christian without allowing an earned run.
They’re in every game with Augusto, a four-year starter and the WCAL Pitcher of the Year, on the mound.
“She’s super competitive,” Johnson said. “She’s got a host of pitches. She moves it up and down, change speeds and blows it right past you.”
Augusto was a threat with the bat, too: She’s hitting .518. Adding offensive support are sophomore catcher Kelly McGuigan (a team-best .521 with 38 hits, 34 RBIs and a Bay Area-leading 13 home runs) and junior catcher-turned-shortstop Maicie Levitt (.437, 31 hits, 18 RBIs, team-high 32 runs).
St. Ignatius’ Fairmont Field doesn’t have fences and the outfield is synthetic turf, but McGuigan “is a true power hitter,” Johnson said. “At least 75 percent of her homers have been legit, including three over the fences in one game at Half Moon Bay.”
If the Wildcats aren’t pulled up to the eight-team Open Division, they should be a top seed in Division 2.
Jordan Brown picks Nevada: Prolific Prep-Napa senior basketball player Jordan Brown ,a 6-foot-10 McDonald’s All-American, announced early Friday that he’ll attend up-andcoming Nevada.
Arizona and Cal were thought to be finalists, and North Carolina, UCLA, Oregon, Louisville and Wake Forest were also on Brown’s radar. But he opted for mid-major Nevada and head coach Eric Musselman, the former head coach of the Warriors and Kings who led the Wolf Pack to the Sweet 16 last season. Nevada returns four starters next season.
As a junior, Brown carried Woodcreek-Roseville to a NorCal Open Division title. He left for Prolific Prep, a basketball academy that has trained Phoenix guard Josh Jackson and Gary Trent Jr., who left Duke after one season and is expected to be a first-round pick in the NBA draft next month.