San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Foothill junior dominant on diamond
In 28-0 season, May held sway both on mound and at the plate
A season ago, Nicole May and her Foothill-Pleasanton softball teammates were heartbroken.
They lost the 2018 North Coast Section Division 1 championship 2-0 to crosstown rival Amador Valley due largely to the performance of Danielle Williams, who struck out 11 and hit a home run. Foothill’s superb 24-4 season went kaput.
“Didn’t feel real good,” Foothill coach Matt Sweeney said. “Made for a long offseason.” With Williams gone — she earned a national Freshman of the Year honor at Northwestern this year — and renewed hope, the Falcons put together a record-setting 28-0 season, won an NCS Division 1 championship and earned a No. 2 national ranking, according to MaxPreps.
May, a junior right-hander
headed to Oklahoma, did her best Williams impersonation in the final, firing a one-hitter with 13 strikeouts and blasting a two-run homer in a 2-0 win over second-ranked HeritageBrentwood.
Like Williams, May’s performance in the NCS title game cemented her standing as The Chronicle’s Metro Player of the Year.
With a 24-0 record, 0.32 ERA and 246 strikeouts in 151 innings to go along with a .463 batting average, .744 slugging percentage, five home runs and 27 RBIs, May also earned Gatorade State Player of the Year honors. A 3.72 grade point average helped her garner that award as well.
“Nicole is a coach’s dream,” Sweeney told Prep2Prep writer Harold Abend. “Always on top, always having to live up to the expectations that she has to deal with, and still rising to those
“Nicole is a coach’s dream. Always on top, always having to live up to the expectations that she has to deal with, and still rising to those challenges.”
Matt Sweeney, Foothill coach
challenges. … The thing about Nicole is in every big game she gets bigger.”
May, known for her cool demeanor on the mound, said her dreams are always bigger than herself.
“The team’s goal is to always be playing in that last game, winning it, and hanging a banner,” she said. “Coach Sweeney does a really good job of reinforcing this goal in our heads, which motivates the team to do better. I really don’t have any specific goals for next season yet except a goal to get stronger and faster.”
It’s hard to imagine her being any more effective.
The Falcons outscored opponents 194-14 and though they lose Pittsburgh-bound shortstop Hope Alley and Morgan State-bound first baseman Ellen Ebbers to graduation, they should be primed for another big season.
Besides May, All-America catcher Courtney Beaudin — likely bound for UCLA — and middle infielder Hailey Hayes return to try to match perfection.
“There are always areas to be worked on,” May said. “As a team we have to keep the same strong mind-set and can’t just expect to win. We have to leave it all on the field.”