Le Grand High softball star receives huge honor. Here’s what she did to earn it
The Le Grand High softball season has been over for weeks, but the honors keep rolling in for the Bulldogs.
Last month CalHiSports.com named Le Grand it’s top Division 5 team in the state. This time, it’s the Bulldogs’ star player who earned a statewide honor from the longtime authority on California high school sports.
CalHiSports named Le Grand’s Ava Avila the top small-school player in the state after she led the Bulldogs to a Sac-Joaquin Section Division 7 title and a CIF Northern California Division 5 championship.
Avila was dominant both on the mound as a pitcher and at the plate as a batter as a junior last season.
She batted .593 on the season and hit 12 home runs, including the game-winning homer in the NorCal title game. Avila also ranked among the state leaders in RBIS (61), doubles (14) and runs scored (45).
As good as she was at the plate, she was just as good from the mound. Avila went 21-1 and had a 0.56 ERA with 252 strikeouts in 150-2/3 innings. Her career record is 42-3.
In its announcement, CalHiSports called Avila a “player well on her way to posting career totals that will rank high in the Cal-Hi Sports state records in both hitting and pitching.”
Le Grand, which finished the season with a 22-7 record, also won the Southern League championship with a 12-0 record.
The Bulldogs were the top seed in the section Division 7 tournament and cruised to the title, defeating Elliot Christian of Lodi 12-2 in the championship game.
They were seeded second in the NorCal regional tournament and defeated fourth-seeded Moreau Catholic of Hayward 5-3 in the championship game.
