College update: Brooks blasts way to phenomenal freshman season at Notre Dame
The following are updates on local athletes at the collegiate level.
Caitlyn Brooks (Burbank High, 2015) Notre Dame softball freshman: The talented Brooks showed the present and future look plenty bright with the Fighting Irish after having left behind a storied career at Burbank High in which she was a multiple-time All-Area Softball Player of the Year and Burbank Leader Female Athlete of the Year.
Brooks turned in a stellar freshman campaign for Notre Dame and, perhaps somewhat surprisingly, it was her bat that led the way.
A phenomenal hitter at Burbank, Brooks still grabbed the most notice with her pitching. But that changed as a freshman with the Irish.
Brooks earned a first-team National Fastpitch Coaches Assn. Mid-Atlantic All-Region nod during an excellent debut season.
Brooks’ 11 home runs led the Irish as did her 24 walks. In 54 games with 53 starts, she hit .335 (53 for 158) with 28 runs, 55 runs batted in (second on team), 13 doubles and a .487 on-base percentage.
For the most part, Brooks was a designated player, batting in the middle of the Notre Dame lineup. She did get in some innings pitching, though, making nine appearances, including three starts. She posted a 5.25 earned-run average across 18 2/3 innings with eight strikeouts and 11 walks.
Following a season-ending three-game Atlantic Coast Conference series against North Carolina State, Brooks was named the season’s final ACC Player of the Week. Brooks went six for nine in the series with three walks, four doubles, one home run, seven RBI and three runs.
Notre Dame (43-13, 13-7 in ACC) then moved on to the NCAA postseason in the Ann Arbor Regional.
A loss to Miami (Ohio) opened the postseason, but the Irish roared back with an 8-0 win against Valparaiso and then a 5-0 victory against Miami. However, Brooks and Notre Dame’s season came to a close on May 22 against Michigan in a 6-2 loss. Brooks started all four games and had a pair of hits and three RBI.
Katie Hooper (Burbank High, 2013) Cal State Northridge softball junior: Hooper’s no stranger to accolades, having picked up All-Pacific League and All-Area honors for volleyball and softball during her days as a Bulldog and was named her alma mater’s female athlete of the year as a senior.¿
Another terrific season was turned in by Hooper at CSUN, and she was bestowed All-Big West Conference honorable-mention recognition for the second time in her career. As a sophomore, Hooper was named the Big West Player of the Year.
Hooper led the Matadors with 13 doubles and 18 walks, adding a .263 average (42 for160) in 56 games with 54 starts. In all, she had 20 extra-base hits, including five home runs, to go with 21 runs and 31 runs batted in. She also had a .337 on-base percentage.
CSUN went 34-22 on the year with a 14-7 Big West showing.
Northridge swept its season-ending series at home against UC Davis with Hooper notching hits in all three games, going a combined four for six with two runs, two RBI and three doubles.
Hooper, who hit .327 in conference play, had nine multi-hit games, including four three-hit contests, and had seven multi-RBI games, including a season-high four on two occasions.
Ashley Russo (Burbank High, 2013) College of the Canyons softball sophomore: Russo wrapped up her days playing at College of the Canyons with plenty to show for it.
Upon the conclusion of the season, Russo was named the Western State Conference Blue Division Pitcher of the Year. A season prior, she had been named an all-conference first-team selection.
Joining Russo in garnering accolades for COC was Burroughs High product Cheyenne Steward, who was a first-team pick.
Russo was the Cougars’ ace, pitching them to a Blue Division title, and posted a 26-11 record across 220 innings with one save, 25 complete games, 139 strikeouts and 61 walks and a 3.05 ERA.
During one stretch, Russo recorded 10 consecutive wins over 10 straight appearances.
Steward set the table for the Cougars’ offense, leading the team with 51 runs and 21 stolen bases. In addition, she hit .356 (53 for 149) with 17 runs batted in, 20 walks, 10 doubles, four triples, three home runs and a .428 on-base percentage.
Canyons won its first-round series in three games over Moorpark. Sixth-seeded COC then lost in the Santiago Canyon College Regional, dropping its opener to Mt. San Antonio College, rebounding with a win over Santa Barbara City before losing again to Mt. SAC. COC finished the season at 32-14.
Mia Acosta (Bellarmine-Jefferson High, 2014) Antelope Valley College softball sophomore: Acosta led a trio of locals that earned All-Western State Conference Blue Division honors.
Acosta, along with former Bell-Jeff teammate Priscilla Panizo, was a second-team selection, while Burroughs High product Naelyse Garcia was an honorable-mention pick.
Acosta finished fifth in the division with a .447 batting average and third with 10 home runs.
Overall, she scored 24 runs, hit 13 doubles, drove in 46 runs and had an .883 slugging percentage.
In the circle, she was 5-5 with a 5.90 earned-run average across 59 1/3 innings for the Marauders.
But it was Garcia, a freshman, who was her team’s No. 1 pitcher. Garcia went 14-13 with a 5.48 ERA. Offensively, Garcia hit .318 with 15 runs and 10 RBI.
As for Panizo, the sophomore outfielder hit .325 with 26 runs, 12 doubles, seven home runs and 26 RBI.
Antelope Valley College was 19-20 with a 12-9 division mark.
Cristina Colon (Bellarmine-Jefferson High, 2014) Los Angeles Valley College softball sophomore: Colon wrapped up a stellar two-year stint at Valley with her second consecutive All-Western State Conference Blue Division honor.
Colon, a third baseman/catcher, was a second-team selection as a freshman and garnered first-team recognition in her final season with the Lady Monarchs.
For the season, Colon led the Monarchs or was second in about every offensive category, including her 47 hits, nine doubles, three triples, two home runs, 31 runs batted in, 19 walks, .420 batting average, .515 on-base percentage and .607 slugging percentage.
From March 15 through March 19, Colon put together a phenomenal run as she tallied four consecutive three-hit games, going a combined 12 for 14 with six runs and three runs batted in. That surge was also a part of an overall eight-game hitting streak.
LAVC finished the season at 16-22 with an 11-10 mark in the WSC Blue Division.
Dylan Mersola (Burbank High, 2013) L.A. Valley College baseball sophomore: Mersola was joined by fellow Burbank High alums and Valley sophomores Hector Rodriguez and Angel Roman as Monarchs who earned All-Western State Conference South Division honorable mention accolades.
Mersola, an infielder, turned in a .254 batting average (32 for 127) with 19 runs, 23 runs batted in, 12 extra-base hits (three home runs), 12 walks and a .319 on-base percentage.
As for Roman, the sophomore outfielder hit .278 (25 for 90) with 19 runs, 11 RBI, five stolen bases and a .316 on-base percentage.
Rodriguez, a sophomore catcher, tallied a .274 average (34 for 124) with 17 runs, 19 RBI, eight extra-base hits (three triples), 14 walks, four stolen bases and a .392 on-base percentage.
The Monarchs went 18-18 on the season and 9-12 in the WSC South.
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Grant Gordon, grant.gordon@latimes.com
Twitter: @TCNGrantGordon
