North Coast Section and Central Coast Section baseball players represented their schools and area codes well in the release of the Cal-Hi Sports all-state baseball teams this past week.
Nineteen players combined from the NCS and CCS made either the first, second, or third teams.
First team players include Bellarmine and St. Francis ace pitchers Justin Calomeni and Michael Strem, respectively; as well as Serra outfielder Jordan Paroubeck, a high draft pick of the San Diego Padres who has signed with San Diego.
Also earning first-team mention were NCS standouts Steven Farinaro from Head-Royce of Oakland and Trent Shelton of Campolindo in Moraga. Farinaro, a pitcher, signed with the St. Louis Cardinals.
The 2013 season was especially gratifying for Bellarmine's Calomeni who rose to stardom as a senior.
“Words do not describe how blessed I am to have the opportunity to continue doing what I love at a high level,” Calomeni said via Instagram upon hearing the news of his selection.
The NCS made a big dent on the Cal-Hi second and third teams, as well. Of the 15 total players from both sections who made the all-state teams, the NCS claimed 10 of those spots. The youngest of these players was Joe DeMers, a sophomore from College Park High in Pleasant Hill. DeMers was also named Cal-Hi Sports State Sophomore of the year.
From CCS, only one player from both the second and third teams combined was not from the WCAL: Willow Glen catcher John Riley.
“CCS has a lot of good players and I'm just honored to be recognized with all these players,” said Riley via Facebook message.
The final four CCS Players on the list were Bellarmine lefty Sam Fontaine, University of Oregon-bound St. Ignatius pitcher Matt Krook, Cal State Fullerton commit and St. Francis left-hander John Gavin and Gavin's teammate Kort Peterson.
Other big names from CCS and NCS made more less prominent Cal-Hi teams, such as the all-state Medium-Small school team and the all-state Underclassmen squad.
First in the Medium-Small school teams, Soquel’s Chris Viall, Westmont’s J.D. Hearn and Lucas Erceg, Willow Glen’s Justin Bruce, and four Pacific Grove Players: Chris Clements, Wes Carswell, Conyal Cody, and Kevin Teskey made the cut.
Bay Area players from the Underclassmen team include Valley Christian’s Theron Kay and Bryson Brigman, De La Salle’s Chris Williams, Branham’s Ryan Williams, and Serra’s Sean Watkins. St. Francis' Gavin is on this list as well.
First Team:
• Justin Calomeni – Bellarmine (San Jose)
• Michael Strem – St. Francis Mountain View)
• Jordan Paroubeck – Serra (San Mateo)
• Steven Farinaro – Head-Royce (Oakland)
• Trent Shelton – Campolindo (Moraga)
Second Team:
• John Riley – Willow Glen (San Jose)
• Dom Miroglio – Bishop O’Dowd (Oakland)
• John Gavin – Saint Francis (Mountain View)
• Matt Krook – Saint Ignatius (San Francisco)
• Jacob Payne – Granada (Livermore)
• Hunter Mercado-Hood – De La Salle (Concord)
• Kort Peterson – St. Francis (Mountain View)
• Joe DeMers – College Park (Pleasant Hill)
• Amalani Fukofuka – James Logan (Union City)
• Alex Martinez – James Logan (Union City)
Third Team:
• Sam Fontaine – Bellarmine (San Jose)
• Daniel Jackson – Amador Valley (Pleasanton)
• Jesse Medrano – Clayton Valley (Concord)
• Ryan Kirby – Granada (Livermore)
• Robbie Tenerowicz – Campolindo (Moraga)
