Redwood Empire baseball, softball stars earn All State recognition

The postseason awards are rolling in for the Redwood Empire’s top baseball and softball players.

Three softball players and three baseball players have been named to All State teams by CalHi Sports, which compiles records and statistics for high school sports teams throughout the state.

Casa Grande baseball star Spencer Torkelson was named to the overall first-team, even though he technically was in the medium-size school category.

The senior, who will play at Arizona State University next season, was the North Bay League’s player of the year for the past two seasons. A player who can play just about any position, Torkelson earned All-Empire honors in both football and baseball.

He finished his four-year varsity career with a .430 batting average - including .481 his senior year, while knocking in 43 runs and scoring another 41 in 29 games. In 110 games total, he had 136 hits, scored 111 runs and had 99 runs batted in.

This year, 20 of his 37 hits were for extra bases.

Another multisport athlete made the medium-size first team: Jack Newman of Analy.

Newman was a three-year starter in football, basketball and baseball. He plans to play football at San Francisco City College.

Chosen as a “multi-purpose” player, Newman pitched and hit well. He finished this year with a .404 average, 14 RBI and 12 runs scored. As a pitcher, he was 5-1 with a 2.14 earned run average.

In the smaller school category, pitcher Logan Barrick brought home all-state honors to Kelseyville.

Barrick led the Knights with a 0.52 ERA and a 13-0 record in 16 appearances, including 14 starts. He tossed three shutouts and had two saves.

A 6-4, 215-pound senior, Barrick allowed only 57 hits and 12 earned runs all season, over 932/3 innings. He struck out 109 batters and walked just 20.

In softball, another three local athletes won the right to say they were all-state: Hana Suppus of Piner in the medium-size category and Tehya Bird of Cloverdale in small schools. Haley Antonini of St. Vincent’s in Petaluma won second-team honors for small schools.

Suppus, a junior pitcher, first baseman and shortstop, led the Prospecters with an other-worldly .764 batting average in 19 games. She also notched 50 RBI on 42 hits, including 13 doubles and 9 homers.

In an 11-game span during this past season, she hit 938 (30-for-32) with 44 RBI, an average of four runs knocked in per game.

She also shouldered the bulk of the pitching duties, throwing 81 innings over 15 games and finishing with a 3.89 ERA.

She was among NCS Division III leaders in five key offensive areas - average (.788), home runs, RBI, slugging percentage (1.557) and on-base percentage (.820).

Bird, just a freshman, was selected as a “multi-purpose” player, both a hitter and pitcher.

In 24 games, Bird had 48 hits and 53 RBI, off nine doubles, five triples and 11 home runs. She had a .727 batting average.

Owing to her skills, she was walked 29 times, and struck out only once.

In the circle, she threw all but two innings for the Cardinals this year, turning in an 18-5 record with 22 complete games, three no-hitters and four shutouts. Her ERA was 2.06.

Antonini, a senior, had a .585 average with 38 hits in 20 games, 29 runs scored and 23 RBI for the Mustangs.

You can reach Staff Writer Lori A. Carter at 707-521-5470 or lori.carter@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @loriacarter.