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So many worthy candidates for the Extra Inning Softball National High School Player of the Week this week!
However, we return to Texas for the second week in a row as one of the top players in the country had a spectacular six games that’s hard to believe…
Games are for Sunday, Feb. 23 through Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020…
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Extra Inning Softball’s National High School Player of the Week
* Jayda Coleman, the 2020 infielder for The Colony (Texas), already has a stellar resume, being a 1st Team Extra Inning Softball High School All-American last year and being ranked #1 in the 2020 Extra Elite 100 rankings along with have a great summer in 2019 playing for the USA Softball U-19 National Team.
The Texan was already a National High School Player of the Week (April 15, 2019) and last week was a Runner-Up in the initial 2020 POW series after hitting .765 in her first seven games and recording 11 steals.
Would you believe her second week was even better?
Jayda put together another crazy week against three 5A and three 6A teams as she went 18-for-22 (.818 batting average) with two home runs, five triples, five walks, 13 RBIs, 14 steals, 19 runs scored and in 28 plate appearances reached base an amazing 25 times for a .893 on-base percentage.
Jayda did make two errors in the field (yes, we’re trying to show she’s human), but also made some spectacular plays at shortstop including this diving stop and throw from her knees to nail a runner at first: click HERE for the video.
Most importantly in the senior’s mind, her team won all its games this week and is at 9-4 after starting off the season with three losses it the first five games.
“This week was great,” the infielder said, “We went undefeated and I feel like our team is starting to figure out our puzzle. My expectations are very high for our team and this program but I just want to take it one game at a time and get better every pitch. We getting into the grind right now and we’re just going to keep working to be the best team we can be.”
Jayda, who sees herself as a shortstop but could play outfield at Oklahoma as well, has even pitched this year and had four wins this past week with just two earned runs allowed despite giving up 14 walks.
For the season she has a 0.78 ERA with 41 K’s and has limited the opponents to a .182 batting average, but she doesn’t think she’ll be taking the circle much in the Big 12.
“This pitching thing isn’t really for me,” she says modestly, “but I will do anything for my team to be successful. I am struggling with pitching but I’m going to compete for my team.”
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Runner-Up Players of the Week
* Jaquelyn Bickar, a junior second baseman at Pacifica (Garden Grove, California) High went 6-for-13 with five runs scored, three home runs and six RBIs in three games last week to show why she’s ranked as a Top 200 player in the 2021 class. Overall, she hit .476 with a team-leading 11 runs, 11 RBI, and four home runs through five games. She and her Marines team are headed to Bullhead, Arizona this week for the Tournament of Champions.
* Louisiana Lafayette-bound middle infielder Kyleigh Sand of Norco (California) High went 9-for-14 with a double, three runs scored, seven RBIs and a walk-off single to beat Mater Dei of Santa Ana, helping the Cougars, #2 in the nation in the Extra Elite Eighty High School Rankings, go 5-0 at the Norco Varsity Softball Showcase last week.
* Vieria Abygail, a junior catcher/first baseman for Mission Viejo (California) went 8-for-11 (.727) with four RBIs in three games. The Clemson commit is hitting .778 on the season (14-for-18) with a home run, six runs scored and five RBIs. As a sophomore in 2019, Vieria was a All-CIF Southern Section DI selection.
* Senior third baseman Shelby Newsome with Central (Phenix City, Alabama) High hit .533 this week with a .650 on-base percentage in six games. Impressively, the Jacksonville State signee had a 1.800 slugging percentage on six home runs and compiled a 2.400 OPS. Overall for the week Shelby had 17 RBIs and scored 11 runs with only one K.
* Kylei Griffin, a sophomore shortstop with Chapel Hill (Tyler, Texas) High, went 10-for-16 (.626 batting avera) and had a .725 on-base percentage, a 1.582 slugging percentage and a 2.253 OPS as she had two home runs, four doubles, three walks and five RBIs in 21 plate appearances. The Nebraska commit is batting .655 on the year with four home runs and 9 RBIs. Last year, she helped The Brook Hill School reach its first-ever TAPPS 4A State Championship Game.
* Laney Roos, a senior pitcher/infielder with Aubrey (Texas) High, had a strong week at the plate and in the circle. The LSU signee had an .826 batting average in 23 at-bats with four home runs, 14 RBIs, six steals and 10 doubles. She also compiled three wins and had 25 K’s in 20 innings.
* Pitcher Lacie Ham, a junior at Murrieta Mesa (California) High, went 4-0, allowed 4 earned runs and recorded 42 strikeouts in 27 innings with wins over Mater Dei, Diamond Bar, Ayala and Huntington Beach at the Norco Showcase.
* Sophomore pitcher Brianna Lopez of Ramona (Riverside, California) High had a great week in the Jurupa Valley Tournament as she threw a run-ruled four inning perfect game, with 11 K’s and a groundout and also threw a one-hit shutout with 10 K’s in another tourney game. For the season, Bri has a 0.74 ERA for the season.
* Sarah Gordon, a sophomore catcher/infielder at Lexington (South Carolina) High went 7-for-9 (.778 average) with three home runs—ironically, each leading off the three games as she bats leadoff. For the week Sarah had 8 RBIs, six runs scored, and went 3-for-3 in steals and even threw out an attempted baserunner. As a freshman, she was an All-State catcher and helped lead Lexington to a state title.
* Bella Herring, a junior outfielder/utility player at Bryant (Arkansas) High, opened her prep season with a bang as she went 3-for-3 with a grand slam and five RBIs in her team’s 16-6 win.
* Kiki Estrada, a sophomore first and second baseman at Chino Hills (California) High and an Arkansas commit went 9-for-14 (.571) last week with 9 RBIs, 3 doubles and a home run for a 1.000 slugging percentage.
* Oregon State signee Madi Simon of Beckman (Irvine, California) High went 6-for-10 (.600 average) with three home runs and seven RBIs last week. Madi is one of the featured players in the new club softball reality shot Game Ready which is available online (click HERE to get more info).
* Alexis Milanowski, a sophomore infielder/catcher with Houston Academy (Dothan, Alabama) High went 10-for-20 (.500 average) with four HRs, 12 runs scored and 13 RBIs to help the Lady Raiders go 6-0 and win the Mason Walding Tournament last week.
* Salenya Daniel of Stratford (Houston, Texas) High played six games and hit .467, three home runs and two triples with 8 runs scored, a .529 on-base percentage and a 1.863 OPS. The Mississippi State verbal committed as an outfielder but is the starting pitcher for her school and has 16 K’s.
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Previous 2020 Extra Inning Softball National High School Players of the Week
- Feb. 26, 2020: IF/P Micaela Wark (Reedy, Frisco, Texas)
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How to Submit a Nomination
Each week during the spring and summer high school seasons, Extra Inning Softball will honor a National High School Player of the Week for games the preceding Sunday through Saturday.
The honoree will be announced every Tuesday (after this week); the cutoff for submitting the nominations is each Monday at noon EST/9 am PST.
We’re looking for standouts who excelled in the circle, at the plate or in the field so be sure to nominate favorite performance(s) by submitting the following:
- Player Name
- Grad Year (example: Class of 2020 or Senior)
- Position(s)
- High school team name with city/state
- Stats for the week (be as detailed as possible!)
- Up-to-date season stats if possible
- Recruiting information if applicable
- Any interesting background on the player
- Action and/or head shots
- If possible, contact info if we’d like more info or quotes
Email info and photos (1-4 as available) by the cutoff of Monday at noon EST/9 am PST to: [email protected].