Extra Inning Softball’s National High School Player of the Week (Feb. 25, 2019)

We knew Norco (California) High would be good—they were, after all, the #1 pick in our preseason Extra Elite Eighty rankings.

That was due in large part because the Cougars have three legit All-Americans coming back in pitcher Sarah Willis, a junior who has signed with Washington; senior catcher/infielder Kinzie Hansen, who inked with Oklahoma, and senior infielder Paige Smith, who is headed to Ole Miss.

You know Norco is going to be strong this year when the Extra Inning Softball National Player of the Week isn’t one of the trio above, who all contributed to the Southern Section Div. I team’s getting off to a 5-0 start in the first big week of prep softball in Southern California.

No, the standout we’re honoring today is pitcher Stevie Hansen, a sophomore who began the season with a hit batter in 1 1/3 innings of relief before going on to throw back-to-back perfect games.

That’s right: she faced 36 consecutive batters and didn’t allow a baserunner in either contest, a 4-0 win over Claremont High on Friday night and an 8-0 run-rule shortened five inning win Saturday against Rancho Cucamonga. The pitcher had nine and 12 strikeouts, respectively, in the two games.

“It was pretty wild,” her father, Steve Hansen, said Monday. “The coaches called a great game and Stevie was hitting her sports well. Her curveball was really on.”

The seasons didn’t start off so well for Hansen, who plays club ball for Greg Borzilleri’s A’s Mercado/Greg 16U team and was ranked in the Top 30 of the 2021 Extra Elite 100.

The right-hander hit the very first batter in last Wednesday’s game against Glendora High in the opening contest of the SoCal’s Best Tournament, a five game round-robin event hosted by Norco, retired three batters and then got the next 36 out in the two perfect games.

The pitcher herself says she focused on each pitch and didn’t really notice the absence of baserunners… for the most part.

“For myself,” Stevie begins, “I try not to think about anything else as I don’t want to mess myself up. I just try to keep myself composed and throw my game with the approach ‘This is the pitch I’m going to throw right now, I can’t think about past pitches or what pitch I’m going to throw next.”

She admits, however, that it’s hard not to notice that no one has reached first base.

“It goes right by you when you’re in the game,” the hurler continues. “I’m realizing, ‘Hey, no one’s gotten on recently!’ and I’m thinking, ‘We’re doing great, our offense and defense are working together well.’”

Coach Robinson, a former catcher called the pitches and said Stevie “was pitching what we asked her to do. She was hitting locations and was able to set up her riseball, which is her best pitch.”

There was only one real close call in the two games, a ground ball that went between first and second into right field, but freshman outfielder Abby Dayton was able to make a clean play and throw the runner out at first.

Interestingly, the head coach didn’t think the team would do as well as it did based on practices heading into the tourney.

“We’re starting a whole new middle infield and everybody played well; we only made one error in the five games. We went into the event, though, not knowing what to expect or think because the practices had sucked, it’s rained a lot her this winter and we didn’t have a rhythm, but everybody showed up and played.”

With Willis and Hansen—who is no relation to Kinzie Hansen, although both athletes’ parents attending Norco High—Robinson feels he has his best pitching tandem in a decade for the storied So Cal program.

“We have two pitchers this year who can win any game versus any opponent,” he stated. “It’s been 10 years since we’ve had the ability to field such a good one-two combination. The last time was with Teagan Gerhart (pitched at Stanford) and Emily Lockman (Nebraska).”

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Each week during the spring and summer high school seasons, Extra Inning Softball will honor a National High School Player of the Week.

The honoree will be announced every Monday night/Tuesday morning; cutoff for submitting the nominations is each Sunday at 11 pm EST/8 pm PST.

We’re looking for standouts who excelled in the circle, at the plate or in the field so be sure to nominate your favorite performance(s) by submitting the following:

• Player Name
• Grad Year (example: Class of 2018 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 your info and photos (1-4 as available) by the cutoff of Sunday 11 pm EST/ 8 pm PST to: [email protected].