High school softball: Top 10 two-way stars in the Southland

Huntington Beach High softball pitcher Zoe Prystajko poses for a photo at the pier.

April 9, 2023 10:43 AM PT

In high school softball, the quality two-way player — the girl that both pitches and hits at a high level — is a rare gem. A “unicorn,” as Villa Park head coach Terry Williams put it.

Travel softball is an ever-widening maw of talent. Depth overflowing. Two-way contributions aren’t needed. But high school ball? If you can throw six innings and notch a couple hits, you’re the second coming of Shohei Ohtani.

“I can’t even put into words how valuable it is,” Williams said, “to get two positions out of one kid.”

So if you introduced the metric of wins above replacement in high school softball, Villa Park’s two-way sophomore Auddrey Lira might top the leaderboard. She’s one of the best at the dish in Orange County, hitting .464 with seven homers, and as Villa Park’s go-to pitcher has notched a 1.38 ERA in more than 100 innings.

Williams has coached studs in the circle like Sydney Somerndike, the Gatorade player of the year for Villa Park in 2020-21. He’s never had a pitcher hit third. Take Lira away, the Villa Park coach said, and his 14-6 Spartans — contenders in Division 1 of the Southern Section — would have two wins, maybe.

“This kid’s a monster,” Williams said. “And only a sophomore, thank God.”

Two-way stars that can truly carry programs the way Lira can are hard to find, but such unicorns are found across divisions high and low in Southland softball. Here are the 10 best so far this season.

Bree Brennan, Sun Valley Village Christian: Meet California’s leader in strikeouts. Brennan, a junior, has stepped up massively this season to become a perfectionistic leader, coach John Forgerson said. She’s a power pitcher on the mound who also carries far and away the highest average on a team trying to make noise in the Southern Section’s Division 6.

“She knows that we’re only going to go as far as she’ll take us,” Forgerson said.

Cece Cellura, Woodland Hills Louisville: The senior San Diego State commit is hitting four homers and has a 1.36 ERA with 79 strikeouts in 56.2 innings for 10-4 Louisville.

Madison Finnerty, Moorpark: A Lehigh commit, Finnerty is “extremely competitive” on both sides of the ball, coach Meaghan Stotts said. In the midst of a banner junior year, she practically won 12-0 Moorpark’s first league game against Oak Park, tossing a shutout while notching four hits.

“She set the tone — ‘Listen, this is the expectation here for league,’ ” Stotts said.

Finnerty has combined a .545 clip at the dish with a 2.04 ERA in the circle.

Auddrey Lira, Villa Park: After Somerndike graduated last spring, Lira had an immense amount of pressure to fill the now-Arizona freshman’s shoes, Williams said. The sophomore has done that and then some, charting her own course toward playing high-level college ball.

“Auddrey’s the best I’ve ever seen at pitching and hitting at the high school level,” Williams said.

Malaya Majam-Finch, Fullerton: Majam-Finch, niece of softball legend Jennie Finch, is an imposing presence in the circle and is putting together a dominant freshman season as a two-way star for Fullerton.

Emily McCoskey, Pomona Diamond Ranch: McCoskey has whiffed 81 hitters in 51 innings for Diamond Ranch and is 11 for 24 at the plate.

Zoe Prystajko, Huntington Beach: Possibly the best pitcher in the Southern Section, the Stanford commit has fine-tuned her swing in a breakout season at the plate, hitting .556 with seven homers.

Mia Sanchez, Eagle Rock: Sanchez is the gold standard for two-way players in the City Section, hitting .528 with 11 extra-base hits and striking out 102 in 59 innings for 9-3 Eagle Rock.

Hailey Shuler, Chatsworth Sierra Canyon: One of the best prospects in the area, the Duke commit will likely continue dazzling two-way prowess for a top college program. Currently hitting .739 with five homers, she brings a “silent punch” to Sierra Canyon’s lineup at the top of the order, coach Regina Jorgensen said. She has a 1.40 ERA in eight appearances on the mound.

Mina Tala, San Pedro Mary Star of the Sea: This junior has been special in the circle, with a 0.57 ERA, and is 20 for 36 at the plate.