McKeown area’s best again
Softball can be an overlooked sport at Corona del Mar High, where many of the programs routinely capture Pacific Coast League and even CIF Southern Section titles.
Many of the top girls’ athletes participate in other sports in the spring, like lacrosse or swimming. And of the softball players that the Sea Kings do have, many don’t have too much experience prior to getting to high school.
Last year, players on the CdM team were unsure if the Sea Kings would even field a team in 2015. The participation numbers didn’t seem to be there.
CdM did a field a team and senior Sydney McKeown, the one who has been playing travel ball for years and was a four-year varsity player for the Sea Kings, provided stability.
That’s not all she provided. She helped CdM win the Battle of the Bay game against rival Newport Harbor for the first time in eight years, scoring the winning run in a 9-8, eight-inning victory.
She shouldered the load at pitcher all year because she had to, even though she’s an outfielder in travel-ball. And she had her second straight red-hot year at the plate, hitting a league-best .583 and earning first-team All-Pacific Coast League honors.
For her efforts, McKeown is the 2014-15 Daily Pilot Newport-Mesa Dream Team Player of the Year, the second straight year she’s earned the honor.
McKeown, a lefty bound for Ole Miss, continued to put in the work for CdM (5-19), leading the Sea Kings with 20 runs scored and adding 14 stolen bases. In the circle, she struck out a league-best 117 batters in 118 innings.
She was the first CdM player in years to be selected to the Orange County Coaches All-Star Classic game, where she had a run-scoring single and a stolen base as her Belles team won, 5-3, at Irvine’s Bill Barber Park.
CdM, which had just five seniors and no juniors, struggled at times. But McKeown definitely helped provide some highlights.
“Even though we didn’t win as many games as we did last year [nine], we still did really well, obviously, because of Battle of the Bay,” McKeown said. “ That’s probably worth like five games in itself, just because it’s so cool. Even though we didn’t get the league win, I think our team still pulled through. We did really well for what we had to work with.”
CdM did indeed extend to what is now a 70-game losing streak in league, yet McKeown kept the Sea Kings competitive. She pitched her best game of the season in a 1-0 loss at Woodbridge, a game that was scoreless until the bottom of the seventh inning.
“Sydney was the rock of our team,” CdM Coach Carly Smith wrote in an email. “She was a valuable asset to our team, both offensively and defensively. Her work ethic, experience and intelligence of the game have led her to this point in her career.”
Her hitting never slowed down for the Sea Kings, either, after she batted .662 as a junior. Just get the ball in play, and McKeown was seemingly safe at first, constantly putting the pressure on an opposing defense.
“I knew that since I did so well last year, I couldn’t just fall off, because then people would think, ‘Oh that’s just luck,’” McKeown said. “I definitely tried to get up to that .600 [mark], but I fell just short of it, but I definitely think I did really well hitting.”
McKeown, one of three travel-ball players on CdM, knows that the Sea Kings were young this year, with nine freshmen on the team. Yet the future appears bright, if the Sea Kings can keep all of those girls playing softball. One of them, catcher Maddie Tumbarello, also plays travel-ball.
“Our freshmen, from when I got there in January until the end of the season, I saw them all improving so much,” McKeown said. “They’re all willing to learn, and learn really easily. I think that in the years to come, they’ll definitely help us out.”
As for McKeown, she is heading into an Ole Miss program where she also wants to be a leader. It can be seen as another question, as Coach Smith is entering just his second season.
Yet, Smith will have a valuable building block in McKeown, just like the Sea Kings did. Opponents also recognized McKeown’s value this season, like first-year Newport Harbor coach and longtime travel-ball coach Mike Hunter, who called McKeown “an obvious choice” for Newport-Mesa Player of the Year honors.
“Tremendous kid, and she played out of position,” said Hunter, whose Sailors split two games against the Sea Kings this season. “Real quality kid, real team leader. She’s a weapon. She’s got a stick, great range in the outfield and a better-than-average arm.”
Here’s a look at the other 11 players on this year’s Dream Team:
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Maya Van Den Heever
Estancia
The junior is a repeat Dream Team selection for the Eagles after excelling both offensively and defensively. She led Estancia in offensive categories like home runs (an area-best seven), RBIs (an area-best 29) and runs scored (34), and was second on the team with a .456 average. Defensively, there was a reason why Estancia Coach Carrie Lester called her the “queen of the outfield,” as she took command in center field and also played some third base. Van Den Heever helped Estancia go 15-10 and 5-5 in the Orange Coast League, winning a tiebreaker game with rival Costa Mesa to advance to the CIF Southern Section Division 5 playoffs. She also made a standout defensive play, catching a low line drive at third base, to end Estancia’s wild 13-11, eight-inning win at Templeton in the wild-card round of the Division 5 playoffs. She was a first-team All-Orange Coast League selection.
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Anessa Farldow
Costa Mesa
The junior catcher, a team captain, was a clear leader for the Mustangs. She helped Costa Mesa have its best season in years, finishing 8-14, 5-5 in league. It was the most league wins for Mesa since 2011, and the team nearly made the playoffs for the first time since that year as well. Farldow hit .435, second on the team, and led the Mustangs with 20 RBIs. The first-team All-Orange Coast League selection also tied for the team lead with 30 hits. She helped Costa Mesa defeat Estancia once in league, snapping a 10-game losing streak against the Eagles. Coach Heather Orduna cited Farldow’s ability to keep a positive attitude as a team captain, and pushing the Mustangs’ players and coaches.
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Diana Surber
Newport Harbor
Surber may have been just a sophomore, but she was a leader with her abilities and good attitude in a tough year for the Sailors (2-23, 0-10 in league). She played most of the year at shortstop and batted a team-best .312 for Newport Harbor. She tied for the team lead with seven RBIs and also contributed two doubles, a triple and a home run. Surber, a second-team All-Sunset League selection, was dangerous on the base paths as well, where she stole 15 bases in 17 attempts. First-year Coach Mike Hunter said Surber, who also hit over .300 in league, has big upside in the next couple of years.
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Brooke Franson
Corona del Mar
Franson, another of CdM’s three travel-ball players, simply was a force on offense as a sophomore, shaking off an injury-riddled freshman year. Franson, a first-team All-Pacific Coast League selection at third base, hit .552 and led CdM with seven doubles, three triples and 27 RBIs. She also hit CdM’s only home run and led the team with 18 stolen bases, and her slugging percentage of .827 was tops in the Pacific Coast League. Coach Smith also highlighted Franson for helping her younger and less-experienced teammates learn the fundamentals of the game.
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Felicia Rios
Estancia
Rios, a junior shortstop, was arguably the Eagles’ biggest threat on offense. She batted a team-best .481 and also led Estancia with seven doubles, six triples and five home runs, after not hitting a home run as a freshman or a sophomore. She unleashed a big one in the CIF wild-card game at Templeton, her first career grand slam that gave Estancia an 8-0 lead in the second inning. Rios, a first-team All-Orange Coast League selection, was Estancia’s only returning infielder from a year ago and her leadership was key as she was also a team co-captain.
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Brenna Alvis
Costa Mesa
Watch a Costa Mesa game this season, and more likely than not you would see Alvis, a sophomore, make an amazing defensive play at shortstop. Orduna said Alvis, a first-team All-Orange Coast League selection, “can stop almost anything hit her way, where it is in the air, on the ground or a line drive.” Alvis was not bad with the bat, either, as she batted .377 and was tied for second on Costa Mesa with 16 RBIs. She led Costa Mesa with three home runs and 19 walks, and stole an area-best 39 bases. She had an impressive .537 on-base percentage as well.
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Ashley McNerney
Newport Harbor
The junior third baseman was another promising player for the Sailors. Despite missing eight games in the preseason, she was second on Newport Harbor with a .282 average, and led the Sailors with 16 stolen bases. She scored 10 runs, which ranked second on Newport Harbor, and was another player who Hunter believes could have a collegiate future in the sport. She stole four bases in a league game against Marina, he said.
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Lauren Oberreiter
Corona del Mar
Oberreiter, a sophomore, was a dependable utility player for the Sea Kings. She played shortstop and catcher, along with some pitcher, finishing with a .286 batting average and 18 hits. Oberreiter also earned second-team All-Pacific Coast League honors and appears to have a bright future in the sport. “Her determination to succeed and commitment to her team are exactly what every coach wants in a player,” Carly Smith said.
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Gianna Guyot
Estancia
Guyot is headed to Alabama State for soccer and also played a key role on the Eagles’ basketball team, yet she proved she was a stud in softball as well. The senior, who typically played third base, was Estancia’s leadoff hitter and put up big numbers. A second-team All-Orange Coast League selection, Guyot batted .387 with 21 RBIs. The well-rounded Guyot was third on Estancia with seven steals and added two doubles, two triples and two home runs.
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Zaira Lopez
Costa Mesa
Lopez, a senior outfielder, had an overall batting average of .400, which was third on the team. But she also was a catalyst for the Mustangs’ success in the Orange Coast League, as she led the team with a .588 batting average in league. Lopez had 16 stolen bases and was known for her ability to put the ball in play, by swinging away, bunting or slapping, or to draw a walk. Lopez, a second-team All-Orange Coast League selection, also consistently had a positive attitude, Orduna said. She was awarded the Mustangs’ team spirit award, as voted on by the players.
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Nefertiti Van Den Heever
Estancia
Van Den Heever, who is twins with Maya, came back strong after she had a torn ACL as a sophomore. Like her sister, she also played in the outfield for Estancia, mostly in left field. Also like Maya, Nefertiti also put up big numbers. She was third on Estancia with a .418 batting average, including 14 RBIs and five doubles, which tied for second on the Eagles. Nefertiti Van Den Heever was a second-team All-Orange Coast League selection.
