BHS Softball: Maldonado named DSL POY

Alyssa Maldonado closed out a spectacular high school sports career by capturing her first Desert Sky League Player of the Year honor.
Maldonado has been a varsity player in multiple sports since her freshman season, racked up more All-DSL honors than she can remember but hadn’t been named Player of the Year in any sport until now.

“It felt pretty good, pretty amazing,” said Maldonado, whose sister Monica won the award for softball in the early ’90s. “I couldn’t have done it without my team behind me.”

With her Player of the Year award, Maldonado placed on her third All-DSL team this school year.

First-year coach Daron Banks said he knew about Maldonado’s talents before he took over the team, and she didn’t disappoint.

Maldonado had a .513 batting average with nine home runs, 18 RBIs, nine stolen bases and just seven errors at shortstop while helping the Aztecs finish third in the DSL. She was unanimously selected Player of the Year by the DSL coaches.

Maldonado said she plans to continue playing softball in college. Several schools have contacted her about playing softball and other sports, but she said she hasn’t made a decision other than to stick with softball.

“This year I figured out what my favorite sport is, and softball is my favorite sport to play,” Maldonado.

Granite Hills’ Carolyn Ruhm was selected as its Coach of the Year when the all-league team.

Ruhm’s Cougars finished a game behind Victor Valley in the standings for second place and qualified to the postseason for the first time in seven seasons.

Barstow, Granite Hills and Victor Valley each had three representatives on the DSL first team: senior Nicole Ulivarri and Hannah Ulibarri along with Maldonado for Barstow;  seniors B.B. Bates, Jessica Bright and LeAnne Eide for defending league champion Jackrabbits; and juniors Tiffany Vance and Lindsay Sandum, and sophomore Jill Wierzbicki for the Cougars.

Both Ulibarri and Ulivarri were big contributors on the Aztecs, Banks said. While Barstow began the season with a hole in pitching, the freshman hurler Ulibarri quickly solidified that position in training camp. She went on to pitch every inning for the Aztecs with a 1.69 ERA.

“Hannah made a big difference as far as win, loss,” Banks said. “We didn’t have anyone that had Hannah’s velocity or accuracy.”
Ulivarri, a senior first baseman provided leadership and a big bat for the Aztecs.

“Nicole Ulivarri is a coaches’ dream,” Banks said. “She works hard, she’s a great kid and she has a great personality.”

Silverado junior Desiri Napoli and freshman Jacqueline Lopez were also selected, and Burroughs freshman Cierra Carreno and senior Kayla Stoffel rounded out the first team.

Earning honorable mention were: Barstow’s Andrea Kolwyck; Burroughs’ Corrine Pearl; Granite Hills Kylee Webb; Silverado Stephanie Garcia and Julie Ortiz; and Victor Valley’s Laura Lopez, Megan Myers, Clarissa Sanchez and Brynna Laidler.

Banks said he also nominated senior catcher Cayla Schreiner, but she wasn’t selected to either All-DSL team. The awards are voted on by the DSL coaches. Although coaches can argue for their players, they can’t vote for them.