Top Performances in California High School Baseball (March 3-8)

There were a lot of big time performances on the diamond throughout the week in California

Mar 4, 2015; Tampa, FL, USA; A general view of Philadelphia Phillies helmets and bats in the dugout before a spring training baseball game against the New York Yankees at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-Imagn Images / Kim Klement-Imagn Images

While the basketball season finishes up in California, the baseball season is now in full swing, with teams all around the state vying to be the last ones standing come NorCal and SoCal playoffs.

Here are 20 of the top performances from up and down the state from games played on March 3-8.

Note: Entries are based on information provided by coaches, statisticians, media members and high school baseball fans. Don’t see any details for your team’s game? Email some notes and/or stats to mitch@scorebooklive.com and dylangrausz@gmail.com. Among reports attained from:Sacramento Bee, Bay Area News Group and MaxPreps.

March 3-8 California Top Baseball Performers

Yahir Alcaraz, a junior at Maxwell, had eight hits and seven RBIs in four games last week, going 2-for-3 with an RBI in a 10-0 win over Lower Lake on March 4, 1-for-2 with two RBIs in a 15-0 win over Lindhurts on March 6, 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a double in a 4-1 win over Live Oak on March 6 and 3-for-3 with two RBIs and three doubles in an 8-0 win over Plumas Charter on March 8.

Jarrett Arias, a sophomore at West Campus-Sacramento, struck out 11 batters while only allowing three walks and three hits in six innings in a 10-0 win over Valley on March 6. This comes as a redemption game after he gave up 10 runs (five earned) on eight hits, four walks and five strikeouts in only 3.2 innings in an 11-0 loss to Rosemont on March 1.

Ethan Ash, a senior at Cal Lutheran, had eight hits in two games last week, going 5-5 with 12 RBIs, two doubles, two triples and three runs scored in a 27-0 win over The Grove School on March 3 and 3-for-3 with a home run, RBI, double and three runs scored in a 4-2 win over The Webb School on March 4. Ash is currently the nation's leader in batting average with a .905.

Nicholas Au, a senior at Westmoor, combined for three hits in two games last week, going 2-for-3 with an RBI in a 4-1 win over Summit Shasta on March 4 and 1-for-1 in a 10-0 loss to Summit Shasta in game two of the series on March 6. He is hitting .750 to start the season.

Zachary Berntsen, a junior at Rancho Mirage, struck out 12 while walking five and allowing only three hits in a 4-0 win over Xavier Prep on March 4. In the game, he pitched six innings and got the win. He is currently 3-0 with a 0.78 ERA to start the new season.

David Burkholder, a sophomore at San Marcos, threw complete game shutout in an 11-0 win over Rio Mesa on March 4, striking out three while allowing three hits. To start off the new campaign, the 6-foot recruit has 1-0 record with a 0.00 ERA in three appearances.

Fernando Cruz, a junior at Montebello, combined for nine hits and nine RBIs in three games last week, going 3-for-3 with five RBIs and four runs scored in a 28-0 win over San Gabriel on March 3, 3-for-3 with two RBIs and three runs scored in an 11-0 win over Mark Kneppel on March 6 and 3-for-3 with two RBIs in a 6-3 win over Bell Gardens on March 7. He is batting .733 with 11 RBIs to begin the new season.

Steven Gonzales, a senior at Colony-Ontario, struck out 12 over seven innings of work in a 6-0 win over Garden Grove on March 8, allowing two hits and walking one. In a game on March 1, he struck out four while allowing two hits and one run in four innings of work in an 8-1 win over Riverside Prep. He has a 4-1 record with a 0.36 ERA in five appearances (four starts) so far this season.

John Kasten, a senior at Clovis, had five hits in three games last week, going 2-for-3 with three runs scored, a home run and an RBI in a 9-1 win over Mission College Prep on March 7, 1-for-3 with a run scored in an 8-2 win over Arroyo Grande on March 8 and 3-for-4 with a run scored and two RBIs in a 12-6 win over Elk Grove on March 1. He is hitting .643 in 14 at-bats through four games so far this season.

Jordan Luisi, a senior at Ripon Christian, combined for 13 strikeouts in two appearances on the mound last week, striking out five while allowing one walk and one hit over 2.1 innings of work in a 4-1 loss to Grace Davis on March 3 and striking out eight while walking three over five innings of work in a 10-0 win over Chavez on March 7.

Nathan Martinez, a senior at Jurupa Valley, had 10 hits in four games last week, going 4-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBIs in an 8-3 win over Polytechnic on March 1, 2-for-3 with two runs scored in a 5-4 win over Eisenhower on March 4, 3-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI in a 4-3 loss to Western Christian on March 7 and 1-for-2 with a run scored in a 4-1 loss to Palm Springs on March 8.

Danilo Meade, a senior at King/Drew-Los Angeles, combined for 22 strikeouts in two appearances on the mound, striking out 10 while allowing no hits, walks or runs over three innings of work in a 13-3 win over Los Angeles on March 3 and striking out 12 while allowing five hits, three runs (one earned) and walking two over 6.2 innings over work in a 3-2 loss to Maywood CES on March 7. Has a 2-1 win-loss record and a 0.40 ERA in five appearances (two starts) to begin this season.

Tate Morris, a senior at Marina, had 10 strikeouts while allowing six hits over seven innings of work in a 1-0 win over Ocean View on March 6. In three appearances to begin this season, Morris has a 2-0 win-loss record.

Kaden Nicholls, a junior at Bear River, struck out 10 batters while allowing five hits and walking two over six innings of work in a 5-0 win over Twelve Bridges on March 7. In three starts this season, he has a 3-0 win-loss record with a 0.00 ERA and 33 strikeouts over 17 innings of work.

Jake Nobles, a senior at Villa Park, struck out nine batters in his lone appearance on March 3, allowing four hits and an unearned run over seven innings of work in the 1-0 loss to Cypress. In four appearances so far this season (three starts), he has a 2-1 win-loss record and a 0.00 ERA, having struck out 28 batters in 19 innings.

David Pena, a sophomore at San Lorenzo, had eight hits in three games last week, going 2-for-3 with with two runs scored in an 8-1 win over KIPP King on March 3, 2-for-3 with a triple and two RBIs in a 14-4 win over Ygnacio Valley on March 5 and 4-for-4 with two runs scored, a triple and four RBIs in a 16-3 win over Ygnacio Valley on March 7.

Cole Redden, a senior at Southwest EC, struck out 20 batters in two appearances on the mound last week, striking out nine while allowing two hits, an earned run and two walks over five innings of work in a 6-1 win over Needles on March 1, and striking out 11 and allowing two hits over five innings of work in a 10-1 win over Gila Ridge on March 8. He also hit well last week too, combining for seven hits and eight RBIs in seven games played last week.

Max Sarner, a junior at Rolling Hills Prep, went 4-for-4 with a double and two RBIs in a 10-9 loss to Harbor Teacher on March 4. Sarner is hitting .900 with a home run and six RBIs in 10 at-bats over four games to begin the new season.

Jack Trent, a senior at Bret Harte, threw a 13 strikeout perfect game over five innings of work in a 10-7 win over Galt on March 6, not allowing a single hit, walk or run before getting pulled ahead of the sixth inning. Is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in three appearances to start this season.

Jaxon Tweedt, a freshman at Chico, had seven hits in four games last week, going 3-for-3 with three runs scored, a double and an RBI in a 9-0 win over Lassen on March 6, 2-for-2 with four runs scored, two doubles and three RBIs in an 18-1 win over Orland on March 7, 1-for-2 with an RBI and a run scored in a 13-0 win over Del Norte on March 7 and 1-for-2 with an RBI and a run scored in a 5-2 win over Pleasant Valley on March 8. He is hitting .800 with six RBIs in 10 at-bats through five games played to begin the '25 season.