Locals nominated for ESPN honor

Monte Vista Christian’s Sam Thorne pitches during a game against Soquel earlier this year at Hartnell College in Salinas. (Glenn Cravens/Register-Pajaronian file)

Two Aptos High baseball players and one Monte Vista Christian player were nominated for the ESPN/CalHiSports’ All-State Baseball awards earlier this month.

Meanwhile, two local softball players were nominated for the organization’s All-State Softball awards.

Monte Vista Christian pitcher Sam Thorne was selected as a nominee. The recent grad helped the Mustangs win the school’s fourth league baseball championship and first outright championship in history.

Thorne went 7-1 in 2012, throwing two no-hitters while striking out 63. He had two double-digit strikeout performances, one being an April 25 victory against Christopher in Gilroy.

Thorne was also named the Monterey Bay League’s Most Valuable Player.

CalHiSports/ESPN also nominated Aptos’ John Evans and Jordan Talbot.

Evans, the primary leadoff hitter for the Mariners, batted .357 in the Central Coast Section tournament and tallied three RBIs; he also scored five runs.

Talbot was one of the two main pitchers for the Mariners. He helped the team claim the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League championship unbeaten. In the CCS tournament, he went 2-0, striking out 15 while scattering nine hits.

Talbot, who is going to UC Berkeley this fall, was also named the SCCAL Player of the Year.

In softball, North Monterey County’s Janelle Godfrey was selected as a nominee. Godfrey was one of the top sluggers on the team, hitting five home runs during the season. She had 12 multi-hit games for the Condors.

Soquel’s Annalise Bryant also received a nomination. Bryant was the team’s top hitter, finishing with a team-high 17 multi-hit appearances, and was one of the forces behind the Knights reaching their first-ever CCS softball final.



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