Softball: Eight players earn All-Conference recognition

File Photo: Keira Bolinas was named 1st Team All-Conference for the second straight year
File Photo: Keira Bolinas was named 1st Team All-Conference for the second straight year

After a second place finish in the South Coast Conference South Division, the Cerritos College softball team had eight players earn all-conference recognition. Four of those were voted to the 1st Team, while three were 2nd Team selections with another one receiving honorable mention honors.

Leading the way was shortstop Tena Spoolstra (Mayfair HS), who was a two-time 1st Team selection, while sophomore 1st Baseman Keira Bolinas (Torrance HS) was a 1st Team selection after earning 2nd Team honors as a freshman. Pitcher Sierra Gerdts (Montebello HS), a 2nd Team selection as a freshman, earned 1st Team honors, as did freshman outfielder Itzel Soto (Long Beach Millikan HS). Named to the 2nd Team were two-time pick Kayla Hernandez (Santa Fe HS), along with freshman outfielder Haley Davis (Mayfair HS) and sophomore outfielder Victoria Medina (Whittier HS/Rio Hondo College), a 1st Team pick for Rio Hondo College her freshman year. Sophomore Deja Sendejas (El Rancho HS) was selected as an honorable mention pick.

Spoolstra led the state in stolen bases with 41, also batted .431 during the regular season and led the team with 53 hits. Spoolstra also had a 16-game hitting streak during the season. As for Bolinas, she hit at a .404 clip with a .500 on-base percentage during the season. Additionally, Bolians was second on the team in RBI (37) and walks (18), while clubbing three home runs and was a solid defensive player with just two errors and a .993 fielding percentage. Gerdts went 9-3 in the circle with a save and five complete games in 86 1/3 innings pitched. She started 17 of the 28 games in which she appeared and record a 2.59 ERA. Soto, who had a flair for the dramatic, hit .393 during the regular season with five doubles and 22 RBI. Soto drove in the game-winning run against Ventura College in the bottom of the seventh inning and matched that accomplishment with a walk-off three-run home run to beat Santiago Canyon College.

Hernandez, a two-time 2nd Team pick, batted .306 during the regular season and led the team in home runs (4), doubles (8) and RBI (42), while Davis batted .273 with 25 stolen bases along with eight doubles and 22 RBI. A solid defensive center fielder, Davis also recorded five outfield assists on the year. Medina batted .330 this season with 18 RBI and a team-leading 20 walks. Sendejas, who rotated as the team's catcher and second baseman, hit .299 with 18 RBI. She also threw out nine runners who tried to steal bases and posted a .984 fielding percentage.