Softball stars from CCC to square off against WAC

Some of the top softball players in the Central California Conference and Western Athletic Conference will square off next week in the inaugural Paul Leonardo Memorial WAC vs. CCC All-Star Softball Game.

The game was put together by Livingston coach Joe Leonardo, who wanted to give local players an opportunity to showcase their talent against other top players. Leonardo also wanted to honor his brother, who coached with him a long time.

“There used to be a Merced County game, and I don’t know why it ever stopped,” said Leonardo, who has been coaching for 18 years. “I think this will be good for the girls. We’ve had a great response from all the coaches. You can tell by the all the kids who are going to play.”

The game will be held at Livingston on June 10. The first pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. There will also be two scholarships awarded to players in Paul Leonardo’s name.

“Paul was really big into softball,” Joe Leonardo said. “We played together; he helped me coach all those years. He loved the game.”

Both teams will be comprised of all-conference players from both leagues. Ceres is the only team not participating.

The WAC team will include MVP Gia Rodoni of Pacheco and El Capitan’s Cassie Gasper and McKenzie Schumacher.

The CCC team will have MVP Shyan Crutcher of Golden Valley and Offensive Player of the Year Alexis Mettler of Pitman. Rheanne Lewis and Megan Kravec lead five players from Merced. Bears ace Madilyn Nickles was selected but will be training with the junior national team in Southern California.

Los Banos’ Dustin Caropreso will coach the WAC team, and Atwater’s Robert Santistevan will coach the CCC squad.

“It’ll be interesting,” Caropreso said. “You get to have all the best girls in the league on one team going against another local league. I’m looking forward to it. I think it’s huge to give these girls one more game.”

Admission will be $5 for adults and $3 for students.

Merced County All-Star Baseball Game to be held June 13

The sixth annual Merced County All-Star Baseball Game will be held June 13 at Merced College at 7 p.m. The North holds a 3-2 lead over the South in the series.

The game will feature some of the top players in the area, including West Sierra League MVP Efrain Del Rio of Dos Palos, who was named the MVP for the South in this game the last two years after homering in each game.

Atwater’s Derek Molina was named North MVP of last year’s game and will suit up again.

Players will be selected from the Merced County game to play all-stars from Stanislaus County on June 20 at Merced College.

Lions All-Star Football Game approaching

The 42nd annual Lions All-Star Football Game will be played June 13 at Tracy High at 7 p.m. The South team will feature nine players from Merced County, including the Merced trio of Jabar Byrd, Tyrone Williams and Jermon Cook and the Buhach Colony trio of Roy Gutierrez, Justin Stefani and Quian Newson.

Other players selected include Kama’Re Bailey of Mariposa, Alec Barcellos of Los Banos and Josh Tui of Pacheco.

The South team will be coached by Downey’s Jeremy Plaa and his staff.

This story was originally published June 2, 2015 at 6:06 PM with the headline "Softball stars from CCC to square off against WAC."