Six Warriors softball players named to all-league teams

Fallbrook High School sophomore Randie Bueno was named to the Valley League first team in softball and five other Warriors received all-league recognition from the Valley League's coaches.

The second team included freshman Nini Ivie. Honorable mention accolades were given to senior Madi Reynoso and freshmen Sonsi Jarvis, Jaylyn Leeman, and Faith Pilbin.

"We are very pleased because we're in a difficult league," Fallbrook coach Ken Pilbin said of having six all-league players. "We played and competed quite well in league."

Fallbrook's 7-17 overall record included a 1-7 mark in Valley League games.

"As the season progressed, we continually got better even though the wins didn't show it," Pilbin said.

The Valley League included two senior pitchers who have received college athletic scholarships: 2017 Ramona High School graduate Hanah Bowen will pitch for the University of Arizona and 2017 Valley Center High School senior Shelby Smith received a scholarship to pitch for Dominican College, which is in Orangeburg, New York, and is in Division II of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

"All the players did well against the stiff competition," Pilbin said.

Bueno, who was Fallbrook's shortstop, led the team with a .314 batting average, 19 runs scored, 28 hits, and two triples. Bueno, Ivie, and senior Nikki Figueroa shared the team lead with six doubles. Bueno also had 11 runs batted in, one home run, a .500 slugging percentage, and four stolen bases. She had 36 putouts and 36 assists in the field while participating in five double plays.

"She got better as the season went on and really led our team through a difficult part of the season," Pilbin said. "She was also the captain of our defense."

Bueno is the only one of Fallbrook's all-league players who was previously honored by the Valley League coaches. She was named to the second team in 2016.

Ivie led the team with 19 runs batted in, four home runs, and a .608 slugging percentage. Her offensive statistics also included 15 runs scored, 22 hits, a triple, and a stolen base.

"She filled a big hole at third base for us," Pilbin said. "She just had an outstanding season."

Maddy Casillas, who graduated in 2016, played third base for Fallbrook last year. Ivie had 20 putouts and 41 assists this year while participating in one double play.

Reynoso, who was an outfielder, batted .263 with ten runs scored, ten hits, four runs batted in, and three stolen bases. Jarvis pitched 95 2/3 of the team's total 142 2/3 innings and had a 6-10 record with a 4.90 earned run average and 75 strikeouts. Leeman led the Warriors with a .361 on-base percentage while batting .304 with 17 hits and eight runs batted in; she scored eight times and stole three bases. Faith Pilbin played first base and had a .212 batting average with four runs scored, 11 hits, and four runs batted in.

The all-league selections included five of Fallbrook's eight non-seniors, so all of the all-league players other than Reynoso are expected to be part of the 2018 team.

"Getting five of the six back is really strong for us including the entire infield," Ken Pilbin said.