Three in a row: Clovis North’s Ryan Maddox again tops The Bee’s Softball All-Star Team
Ever since Ryan Maddox stepped foot in the circle for the Clovis North High softball team, she’s been a nightmare for opposing batters.
It certainly helps having a coach who dominated the circle herself in Courtney Dale, who starred at UCLA after an impressive career at Bullard in Fresno.
Advantage Maddox. The stats speak volumes.
She had an eye-popping 63-5 career record in 451 innings with 782 strikeouts with an 0.64 ERA, according to section historian Bob Barnett.
“Oh, yeah, lots of hard work in the bullpen, especially with Coach Dale working on different pitches to get people out,” Maddox said.
“But definitely just trying to change things up every time.”
For a third straight season, Maddox is The Fresno Bee Player of the Year.
It wasn’t the only accolade Maddox received in the offseason when Gatorade named her the student-athlete Player of the Year.
“I was just super excited and honored,” Maddox said. “I couldn’t have done it without my teammates and coaches.”
Maddox finished the season with an impressive 21-1 record in 152 innings, Barnett said. She also struck out 281 batters and only allowed 14 earned runs and had an ERA of 0.64 ERA. At the plate, she had eight doubles, five triples and 14 RBI.
Maddox led the Broncos to another Tri-River Athletic Conference title.
The nation took notice, too, as she was the ranked as the No. 3 prospect in the Class of 2023 by MaxPreps.com.
She’s done playing at Clovis North and will will continue to play softball for University of Arizona.
Dale described as a “fierce competitor.”
“Her team loves to play behind her, and she is selfless in her success,” she said. “She is a student of the game continuously working to get better and develop her pitches and strategies to get batters out. Along with being one of the best players to come out of the Valley, she is a role model to younger players and an inspiration to her teammates. Ryan has left her mark on Clovis North softball and this state. We look forward to watching her compete at the University of Arizona.”
One of the proudest moments in Maddox’s prep career was helping guide her team to the 2021 Central Section Division I championship.
In the title game two years ago, she pitched a three-hitter, striking out 10, and helped her cause by driving in two runs — one on a home run in the third inning — to lead top-seeded Clovis North to a 6-3 win over No. 3 Clovis.
She credited past and current teammates for helping her.
“I’ve worked hard to be where I am,” she said. “It’s good to see that it paid off. They’ve (teammates) got my back, when the ball does get put in play, they try to do their best to make plays for me. They’re always there for me when I need them.”
Coach of the Year: Scott Gorton, Central
Scott Gorton saw the pain in his team’s faces when Central came up short in the 2022 Central Section championship.
It was something he didn’t want to see his team go through again this past season.
“I think we felt like there was some unfinished business there and we just felt with a little bit of maturity and seasoning that we could really get to where we wanted to this year with strong, pitching,” he said.
“With a couple of strong seniors throwing, it kind of panned out the way we had hoped it would.”
The Grizzlies made a run in the Central Section Division I playoffs, capped off with a 4-2 victory over Bullard in the championship at Margie Wright Diamond.
Central continued its season in the NorCal regional playoffs to finish the season 27-6 overall and second in the TRAC at 7-3.
The Bee named Gorton the Coach of the Year.
In 16 seasons as the Grizzlies’ head coach, he led his teams to four league championships, three section championships and three runner-up section titles. Barnett said Gorton has an overall record 327-157-5
“What matters is the kids that are out there,” he said. “They’re the ones that put in the work every day. You hope to just lead them and do the best that you can to point them in the right direction. These kids were easy to point in the right direction because they were hungry, but they were also skilled.”
Large School Player of the Year: Mia Nishikawa, Central
The run the Grizzlies made can be traced to Nishikawa, who was their go-to pitcher — especially in the playoffs.
In the title game, she came on in relief and pitched three scoreless innings.
She finished the season a 17-3 record with 189 strikeouts in 120.2 innings for a 0.94 ERA.
For her career at Central, she compiled a 34-15 record with 418 strikeouts in 322.2 innings.
Medium School Player of the Year: Taylor Hastin, Tulare Union
The Tribe had plenty of success this past season. Hastin is one of the reasons as she did plenty in the circle and at the plate.
Her batting average was .379 while knocking in 30 runs. She had 11 doubles and five home runs.
In the circle, she was 8-1 in leading the Tribe to a 25-5 overall record and a 10-0 mark in the West Yosemite League.
She was named the WYL MVP.
Small School Player of the Year: Mia Castillo, Orange Cove
The arm of Castillo is the reason why the Titans stood tall at Margie Wright Diamond in the Central Section title game.
It wasn’t just that game. It’s every game when she was in the circle that gave her team hopes of winning games. Hitting made it even better for Orange Cove.
Castillo finished the season going 19-2 with 203 strikeouts and a 0.79 ERA in 141.2 innings pitched. She also hit .367 and drove in 27 runs with 10 doubles.
The Titans won the Division IV section title after pitched a two-hitter with seven strikeouts in a 4-0 win over Mission Prep.
She was named the MVP of the East Sequoia League — Sequoia Division.
The Bee’s Best of the Best All-Stars
Gizelle Aguirre, Jr., OF, Caruthers
Alexis Alvarado, Soph, INF, Fowler
Sarah Azzarello, Sr., INF, Clovis
Mia Arriola, Soph., P/1B, Sanger West
Geny Barrera, Soph., P, Coalinga
Kayhlen Boring, Soph., P/INF, Hanford West
Naleya Bridges, Sr., INF, Clovis North
Michaela Brown, Sr., P, Redwood
Karsyn Bauer, Jr., P/OF, Liberty-Madera Ranchos
Autiana Buck, Sr., C, Buchanan
Aniyla Byrd, Sr., OF, Edison
Grace Carpenter, Sr., OF, Clovis
Anahi Castillo, Sr., C/1B, Orange Cove
Grace Chojanki, Sr., P/1B, Mission Oak
Brynn Close, Soph, P, Riverdale
Stephanie Cruz, Sr., P/1B, Farmersville
Natalia Delgadillo, Fr., P/SS, Immanuel
Star Roman-Elizondo, Jr., UTIL, Orange Cove
Cici Frazel, Jr., 2B, Central
Stella Gidcumb, Sr., INF, Buchanan
Nissa Gonzales, Sr., McLane
Jocelynn Gonzalez, Fr., P/1B, Kingsburg
Brianah Hamilton, Sr., OF, Madera
Alexis Hernandez, Fr., P/1B, Farmersville
Lauren Jones, Soph., SS, Edison
Malina Ledesma, Sr. OF, Sanger
Christal Lopez, Sr., P/DP/1B, Buchanan
Alyssa Martinez, Jr., 1B, Sanger
Heaven Moore, Fr., INF, Chowchilla
Millie Morales, Sr., OF, Clovis West
Eilssa Olea, Sr., P/DP, Selma
Alexandria Perkins, Sr., OF, Fowler
Kamana Powell, Jr., OF, Central
Madeline Powers, Soph., OF/INF, Orange Cove
Jayden Ramos, Jr., P/1B, Central
Carly Raven, Sr., OF/1B, Kingsburg
Haley Reeve, Sr., OF, Bullard
Miliani Reyes, Sr., Washington Union
Maddie Rey, Sr., 3B, Clovis West
Malea Ricks, Soph., OF, Madera
Katrina Rodriguez, Sr., 1B, Clovis East
Stephanie Sanchez, Jr., INF, Fowler
Kiara Sipe, Jr., C, Clovis North
Sveva Sweeney, Jr., C, Clovis
Zoey Thomas, Fr., INF, Clovis North
Anisa Torres, Sr., OF, Caruthers
Morgan Triguiero, Sr., P/SS, Caruthers
Karmen Vazquez, Fr., P/C/3B, Hanford West
Sophie Walker, Soph., Coalinga
Remni White, Sr., SS/C, Fresno
