Clipboard: Segura an ace on the mound at Oregon State
Nothing is automatic, although winning a game is starting to feel like that when Eric Segura is on the mound for nationally-ranked Oregon State.
The junior hurler is 4-1 this season with a career-low 1.86 earned run average. The Beavers are 11-1 in the Soledad High graduate’s 12 starts this spring.
The 6-foot-2 right-hander has struck out 61 hitters in 58 innings, while lowering his walk numbers from the previous season. Opponents are hitting just .200 against Segura, who throws in the mid-90s.
In three seasons at Oregon State, which is ranked No. 10 in the nation, Segura is 18-4 with 211 strikeouts in 185.1 innings, with his ERA dipping to 3.88.
The Herald’s Baseball Player of the Year in 2022, Segura earned all-state honors as a junior and senior at Soledad, posting a 9-3 record with an 0.61 ERA in 2022. He also hit .465 with 17 extra base hits and 13 stolen bases.
Myers provides another dimension
Ella Myers had to earn her stripes as a pitcher before the true freshman would take her cuts at the plate for UC Santa Barbara.
The Monterey High grad delivered a walk-off run-scoring single in the Gauchos’ win over UC San Diego in nine innings in the Big West Conference tournament.
Hitting in the No. 3 spot when she’s not pitching, the 18-year-old Myers has hit safely in five of her past six games, raising her batting average to .405.
The Herald’s Female Athlete of the Year last season, Myers has clubbed three homers in just 37 at-bats, having driven in 13 runs, while walking seven times, sporting a .500 on-base percentage.
In the circle, the right-hander has made 18 appearances, including six starts and pitched two complete games. Myers has a 3-3 record with 18 strikeouts in 48 innings, posting a 4.65 earned run average.
Myers recorded over 500 strikeouts in four seasons at Monterey, leading the program to two CCS Division II titles and a NorCal Division IV crown. She also won over 100 wrestling matches, finishing fourth at the state championships in 2025.
Stevenson grad honored
Nikki Iniakov was named the winner of the Warren Smith Sportsmanship award for the Harvard University women’s golf team.
Having readjusted her entire swing, Iniakov became a critical contributor for Harvard as a true freshman, helping the golf program to a second place team finish at the Ivy League Championships.
A four-time state meet qualifier at Stevenson, who holds the Spyglass course record of shooting 8-under over nine holes in 2024, Iniakov was Harvard’s No. 4 golfer at the conference finals, finishing in a tie for 18th overall.
During Iniakov’s four seasons at Stevenson, she was a four-time Pacific Coast Athletic League Gabilan Division Most Valuable Player, helping the golf program to its first state team appearance in over a decade in 2025.
Selected by First Tee and paired with PGA golfer Ernie Els to compete in the PURE Insurance Championship, Iniakov won the Junior girls title in 2024 at Pebble Beach.
PG grad sizzling
Perhaps Cy Turner just needed the weather to shift, as the outfielder has been on a power surge at the plate for the Wright State University baseball team.
The Pacific Grove product put together his first two-homer game of his collegiate career earlier this week, driving in a career-high seven runs as the Raiders got to .500 overall on the season.
With six homers in his past 12 games, Turner shares the team lead in homers with eight, while hitting .305 for Wright State, which is 15-3 entering the weekend in the Horizon League.
Turner also leads the Raiders in stolen bases with 15 in 17 attempts, sports a .445 on-base percentage, and has driven in 29 runs in 40 games, while scoring 39.
After two productive seasons at Monterey Peninsula College as a third baseman, Turner moved to the outfield, where he spent last year at Memphis before transferring to Division I Wright State.
Salinas’ Jones at Grand Canyon
True freshman Abi Jones was named to the All-Mountain West second team as a pitcher for conference softball champion and No. 25-ranked Grand Canyon University.
Making 33 appearances this spring — 32 in relief, the hard-throwing right-hander is third on the team in wins with a 9-2 record and one save, striking out 40 hitters in 64.1 innings of work for Grand Canyon, which is 48-7 this season.
A Salinas High graduate and former Herald Softball Player of the Year, Jones has the second most appearances this spring for the Thunder, sporting a 2.71 earned run average.
Jones, who has not allowed a run in 20 of her appearances, did not give up an earned run in four innings of relief earlier this season against Notre Dame. She also sports a .938 fielding percentage in the circle.
Last year, Jones hurled Salinas to a share of the Pacific Coast Athletic League Gabilan Division title and the program’s first-ever Northern California Division II title, finishing 19-6 with 225 strikeouts, producing over 600 strikeouts in her prep career.
Officials needed
Peninsula Sports Incorporate is looking for high school and middle school officials for all sports this season. Varsity officials are paid $100 a game.
There is an immediate need for officials in the fall for football, flag football, volleyball, boys and girls water polo and field hockey. Training is provided. Call Tom Emery at (831) 241-1101.
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