A lot to get to today including a club profile from a team in one of the most beautiful cities in the U.S. and then a spotlight on a Hot 100 senior who’s part of a strong Pac-12 class. We have a lot of verbals to report and also a fall pic from that shows you one reason why this program is recruiting well!

 

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TEAM PROFILE: SAN DIEGO POWER SURGE

Few would argue the opinion that San Diego is one of the most beautiful and popular cities in the U.S.

With it’s temperate climate, plentiful beaches and attractions such as the San Diego Zoo, SeaWorld San Diego and Balboa Park, it’s a great place to be whether you’re a visitor or a life-time resident.

But is it a great place to play softball?

There are several successful programs in the San Diego area, but most will admit it’s tough as many top players have migrated north to play on high-profile teams, be it the OC Batbusters, the Firecrackers, So Cal A’s, etc.

Florida freshman pitcher Delaney Gourley, for example, hails from San Diego, but was the ace on the A’s and led the team to its fourth straight PGF Premier title. Another example is 2015 OF Natalie Peters, a Michigan commitment, who is now playing for the OC Batbusters-Haning team.

Recently, a coach who’ll be starting a new team in San Diego rubbed several programs the wrong way when he posted on a popular message board that “San Diego deserves a top organization.”

Ouch.

Scott Berndes, the President of the San Diego Power Surge organization, was first to jump in and respond, saying:

“We in San Diego have been very proud to compete at the highest level against all other organizations in SoCal and the entire country. And I believe we have done a wonderful job competing and taking San Diego players to the highest level. Our teams in San Diego have won many National Titles and placed players at every major college in the country.

“(You) will find that the TNLs, Renegades, SoCal Breakers, SD Breakers, Power Surges, etc., will compete for players and are very well established in San Diego. We welcome the competition but certainly will not shy away from it either.”

When asked if being in San Diego is a strength or if it hurts because of the proximity of several high-profile teams, Berndes, who also coaches a 14U team, says, “Maybe a little, but overall we do fine although it can be frustrating when players leave.”

“I feel if you are a really good player and you’re in Idaho, they college coaches are going to find you. If you’re in Nebraska, they’re going to find you there too. We have girls going to Pac-12 schools—for example, we have an eighth grader who just committed to UCLA—as well as Ivy League schools. One of my catchers (at 14U) is being highly recruited so it shows that at all levels the caliber of talent is strong her.”

The Power Surge also has a sizeable program with about 160 player competing on 11 teams: the 18U Gold squad—“our showcase team built for college recruiting and our best players”—then an 18U team which is comprised of “girls that love softball. They might not be UCLA or Alabama players but the focus is to get full scholarships wherever possible and we’ve had a lot of success here.”

There are also three 16U teams, three 14U teams, two 12U teams and one 10U Power Surge team.

Another differentiator for the Power Surge is one of the few organizations around, especially in Southern California, that has its own fields and facility

“We have four fields, five batting cages, including one donated by the San Diego Padres, and six practice pitching mounds which are all lighted.”

Berndes says to get the Padres’ cage, “We had to rent a U-Haul and drive onto their fields to get it.”

The Power Surge organization started in 1992 and Berndes got involved in 2000. he’s been the organization’s president 10 of those 13 years. He also coaches the 14U division which won the 16U division this weekend and, overall, he’s won three National Championships, but it’s not just winning on the field that’s a strong suit—the program has many outstanding student-athletes as well.

“The girls we have are highly motivated people,” he continues, “and that includes academics. We have girls in the dugout studying while waiting to hit. Every girl on my team, all 13 players, has a 4.0 GPA or better.”

The Gold program has sent girls to Princeton, Harvard and Cornell.

“We have a great connection at Ivy League schools,” says Berndes. “I had a girl who got an academic scholarship to pitch at Harvard and then went on to Harvard and is now a practicing doctor.”

“We’re almost like a college in that we’ll ask a girl what her GPA is because we have an academic standard, but we will help girls of all ages and levels. We’ve had some who ended up at junior colleges too. The key is we want them to have a great softball experience, get their education paid for at the next level and prepare them for what it will take to succeed in college.”

“We’re proud of our success record on that and feel our girls from San Diego can compete with anyone on and off the field.”

 

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Here’s a player-by-player look at the Sa team with comments by Scott Berndes:

— 2B/3B Katie Byrd (2014, San Diego State)
“Katie is something very close to my heart, she’s the last girl on the 18U Gold who played on my 12U ASA National Championship team from 2009. She’s a great player who works hard. She hits for really good power.”

— P/1B Katie Carmichael (2014, San Diego)
“Katie will be replacing a four-year starter at Cornell who was from Power Surge. She’s a pitcher only and has a nasty change-up. She has a 4.6 GPA.”

— P Lexi Blevins (2014, Tulsa)
“Lexi is also a pitcher only and has a great riseball. She throws really hard, in the mid 60’s.”

­­— 1B Tierra Falo (2015, Long Beach State)
“Tierra hits the ball a mile, she’s just a great hitter who hits for average and power, but her power is awfully fun to watch. When she hits a home run, you just go, ‘Oh my.’”

— Aaliyah Jordan (2016, UCLA)
“Aaliyah’s first time up she can hit the ball 250 feet as she’s athletic, fast and strong. Next time up the defense is back and she’ll hit a triple by bunting and then stealing two bases. She can do it all.

— SS Sharia Cormeir (2014, Mississippi Valley State)
“Sharia is a great shortstop with great speed who can run like the wind. She lives in Hemet and has an hour and a half drive to practice.”

— 3B/OF Jennifer Callais (2014, uncommitted)
“Jennifer is very versatile and is a strong girl who hits for power. She’s very important to the team because she can play so many positions. ”

— OF/IF Kelsey Buchanan (2014, uncommitted)
“Kelsey could be going to an Ivy League school as she’s very academically oriented. She’s a good outfielder who’s a slapper with power.”

— 2B/OF/3B Hailey Boyett (2015, uncommitted)
“Hailey is one of the younger girls on the team and can play any infield position. She’s getting used to the 18U level pitching and is hitting gap line-drives.”

— C/1B Olivia Paz (2015, uncommitted)
“Olivia is our No. 1 catcher, she’s being recruited by a lot of really good schools. What they’re seeing in her is she hits for a lot of power. She does a great job defensively and has a strong arm.”

— OF/2B Kailey Hipwell (2015, uncommitted)
“Kailey does a great job in the outfield and is a very fast runner. She’s a slapper who gets on base all the time.”

— P/SS/2B Stephanie Soriano (2016, uncommitted)
“Stephanie pitches in the mid-60’s. She generates a lot of speed and throws great. She plays the outfield and has a lot of colleges after her. Stephanie is a really good player all around.”

— 1B/OF Abigail Callias (2016, uncommitted)
“Abigail is one of the most valuable players on the team. If she played major league baseball, she’d be a Gold Glove winner. She’s very smooth with her glove and if it’s in the dirt she eats it up.”

— SS/2B Hannah Gilliland (2014, San Diego)
“Hannah is the heart and soul of the team, she’s a team leader. She doe everything well, she hits, steals bases and is a great defender.”

 

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RECRUITING PROFILE: MCKENNA ARRIOLA

Last week we rolled out our top 50 players in the Hot 100 seniors list and No. 33 on that list was McKenna Arriola… here’s a closer look at this outstanding infielder:

Year: 2014
High School: El Camino Real (Woodland Hills, Calif.)
Club Team: OC Batbusters-Haning
College: Oregon State
Honors: All-City, West Valley All-League
Stats: hit .541 with 33 runs, 23 RBI with 12 steals

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StudentSportsSoftball.com: How did Oregon State find you and ultimately offer?
McKenna Arriola: They first noticed me at the 2011 On Deck camp, and they came to watch me that following weekend in the Hemet tournament. From there on we started talking.

SSS.com: How did you commit to the Beavers?
MA: I committed to them the summer after ninth grade. We traveled to Corvallis to visit the school. My parents and I loved the university. When I came home my parents and I talked about the opportunity. The next day I called Coach Walker and told him I would like to play for Oregon State.

SSS.com: You play with another Batbuster infielder, Alysha Everett, who’ll be a Beaver. Did your committing have anything to do with her or any other girls or was it solely on what you liked about the school?
MA: My friend, Danni Gilmore plays at OSU now. We played together at ECR (High School). She was a great influence to me and I look up to her. I liked that school since then. Two years after committing to Oregon State I met Alysha.

SSS.com: You can play pretty much anywhere up the middle on defense… do you have a preferred position? Why this one?
MA: I do not have a preferred position. I will play anywhere that my coach needs me to play. I am most comfortable at shortstop because I have played that most of my softball career.

SSS.com: Talk about the merger between Team Mizuno and the OC Batbusters; how has it gone and what did you think about it at first?
MA: I love the fact that OC Batbusters and Team Mizuno merged. The girls are great and have great enthusiasm towards the game. The coaches are also great. Within the little time of being with the new coaches I have learned so much and I feel like I have improved because of it. I see a great season ahead of us

SSS.com: You’re known as a great defensive infielder… do you work on defensive drills to help you go laterally and lay out if needed? What are some of your favorite drills to do?
MA: Yes, I do work on defense drills to help myself go laterally. I am pretty quick so I want to make sure I can get to any ball in my reach. Laying out, if needed, is something I don’t work on because it is more of an instinctive thing for me.

 

Quick Hitters:

If you could have dinner with any one person alive today, who would it be?
I think it would be Beyonce because she is a very powerful women.

What platform do you spend time on most: TV, smart phone, laptop (PC/Mac) or table (iPad)?
I don’t typically spend too much time on electronics, but since I have my phone on me all time I probably spend most time on that.

Imagine you’re at a party and someone suddenly asks you to sing… would you do it?
I would depending on who it is for. I’m a horrible singer so if it is for close friends then I wouldn’t have a problem doing it.

Let’s say you were handed a $1,000 bill… what would you spend it on?
Nothing. I would put into my savings account.

Favorite type of pie:
I don’t like pie.

Favorite genre of music: hip hop, classical, country, rock, pop, or other?
Hip hop or rap is my favorite type of music.

Finally, what’s your motto or slogan you live life by?
Question: What do you want to be when you grow up? Answer: Happy! That’s my motto.

 

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RECRUITING NEWS:

*** Sydney Sprague, a 2014 SS/2B/UT player from Columbus, Ga. who plays for the Georgia Peaches Gold, committed to Missouri over the summer and took her official visit this past weekend.

She was one of six players who visited—the list also included Hot 100 seniors 1B/3B Morgan Walters (#75), P Paige Lowery (#63) and 3B Amanda Sanchez (#60) as well as 3B/2B Paige Bange.

We’ll have more on her this week…

 

*** Another Peaches Gold player that recently committed is Kayla Cotton, a 1B/P in the Class of 2015. She’s staying in-state to play at Georgia

 

*** During the PGF 18U Premier National Championships, we did a team profile on the NC Lady Lightning Miken team and one girl we profiled was Emily Heimberger, a 2015 infielder.

Emily was interviewed along with Alabama freshman Marisa Runyon as well as with Madison Arroyo, who’s currently at Mississippi State. That’s where Emily is headed after committing recently. Click here to see the interview from three months ago along with her picture.

She’ll be the fifth current player in the Lady Lightning program headed to MSU: the others are 2014 C/3B Calyn Adams, 2015 P Regan Green, and 2017 sisters Mia and Montana Davidson, a catcher and shortstop/outfielder, respectively.

 

*** 2016 C/OF Becca Prairie of the East Cobb Bullets-Schnute team has committed to Georgia.

When we did a team profile, here’s what Coach Greg Schnute said about her: “Becca will be highly recruited and this next summer will be huge for her. She’s strong and defensively she’s really, really good. In Chicago last year, she was awesome at catching and I’d put her out there with anybody. She will be recruited by the big schools.”

 

— 2015 P/IF Kamryn Toney of the Georgia Elite 16U team has committed to Central Florida. When we profiled the Elite squad, here’s what Coach Australia Hoover had to say: “Kamryn is a quiet force in the circle, whose ability to work especially well low in the zone makes her a very tough pitcher to face. Toney is really starting to develop physically into a dominating pitcher who will break out to a new level here pretty soon. Kamryn is the daughter of Assistant coach Kevin Toney.”

 

*** Another Georgia Elite 16U player who has verballed is 2016 C/OF Brittany Maresette (2016, uncommitted) who has committed to Auburn. Said Coach Hoover: “Brittany returns to the team where she served as last season’s starting centerfielder. A real playmaker with exceptional quickness and a fearless approach to playing the game, she will likely get some additional time behind the plate this season as well, showcasing her versatility.”

 

*** — 2016 OF/UT Allison Tatnall plays for the So Cal Choppers 16U – Shipman/Ziese team and has picked Arizona State, not too big of a surprise because when we profiled the Choppers Coach Jim Ziese told us: “Allison has narrowed her choices to ASU and Tennessee. She is a strong, athletic kid who loves to play the game. She’s a pure lefty swing and has great speed. Allison loves the game and always has a smile on her face.”

 

*** More verbals….

— C Dejah Mulipola (2016, Arizona)… plays for OC Batbusters – Stith
— OF Janae Perrera (2015, Florida International)… plays for Wagner’s Gold – Dunn
— SS Shannon Felde (2015, Illinois State)… plays for Home Hawks Gold
— OF Brooke Wilson (2015, Loyola Univ.)… plays for Beverly Bandits
— 3B Abi Poe (2014, Lubbock Christian)… plays for Platinum Softball of Texas
— C/OF Emma Mires (2014, Maryland)… plays for Maryland Chill
— 1B/OF Alex Vargas (2014, Ohio State)… plays for San Diego Renegades
— P Maddie Seifert (2015, Penn State)… plays for St. Louis Chaos
— MIF Alli Fulcher (2015, Tennessee Martin)… plays for Germantown Red Devils
— C Taylor Ellsworth (2017, Texas)… plays for Texas Dirtbags
— IF/OF Jade Jameson (2014, Texas-Arlington)… plays for Texas Blaze Gold

 

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PIC OF THE DAY

One reason Washington is recruiting well can be shown in a couple photos tweeted out by UW assist cross country and track coach Lauren Denfeld. Beautiful scenery…

 

 

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