Sheldon Ten-Runs Enochs

Anessa Kaylor does something just about every inning that one won’t see very often in softball. The Sheldon High School senior third baseman, right after handing the ball to her pitcher, jumps in the air and clicks her heels.

“I got that from a college girl,” Kaylor said. “She would do that and get so high. I just thought it was so cool. I was only about 12 years old at the time, but I said ‘I want to do that.’”

On Saturday in the second and third round of the Sac-Joaquin Section’s Division I girls’ softball playoffs, Kaylor was frequently clicking her heels. Huskies’ pitcher Gabriella Montaie fanned six Enoch batters in an 11-1 romp Saturday afternoon.

Anessa Kaylor, who had a homer and three RBI's, in a win Sat.

“Gabby is hot at the right moment,” Huskies’ head coach Mary Jo Truesdale said. “That’s going to help us a lot. She is very focused.”

But, the Section Hall-of-Fame coach is perhaps more impressed with how well her Delta River League champions are hitting the ball. Sheldon has scored (21) runs in its first (two) playoff games.

“I think what we’ve done is going to intimidate all the teams that are here,” Kaylor remarked.

The last time in the playoffs the Huskies were scoring with this kind of efficiency was two years ago when Sheldon had 75 runs in its seven playoff games and won the Section championship going away.

“It’s going to be a battle, though,” Truesdale said. “There are so many good teams here. We know it is going to be tough to do that. A repeat is going to be hard, but we’re going to give it our best shot.”

Leading the way in the Enoch game was Kaylor who drilled a two-run homer in a four-run fourth inning then came back in the fifth inning and drove in another run.

“It felt great,” Kaylor said. “I wasn’t sure (whether it was a home run or not) because of the condition of my arm. When I (hit a ball well) it really boosts my confidence going into the next game.”

When batting, the San Jose State-bound infielder dons a pair of prescription sunglasses with a bright white frame. It’s not a stylish thing to wear the rounded-lensed frames.

“I figured out my sophomore year I have a depth perception problem,” Kaylor said. “After I got them, it was like a 100-point boost on my average.”

Equally impressive at the plate is Sacramento State-commit Zamari Hinton. She got Sheldon the board in the first inning with an inside-the-park home run, impressing all fans with her incredible speed around the bases.

“She has been so unbelievable and such a leader this year,” Truesdale said. “My seniors are just great.”

Now with the win on Saturday then a 4-1 loss to Rocklin later that afternoon, Sheldon will now play out of the losers bracket on Monday at the Sacramento Softball Complex, site of the Section playoffs.

“With the Sunday break (in the playoffs) we need to not lose that momentum,” Kaylor said.