Marsh finishes career at Gregori High as MMC softball MVP

Madison Marsh showed bunt, dangling her bat in front of the plate as Tracy High School fireballer Karina Faasisila started her windup.

The corner defense crept in, gloves down and ready, as the ball traveled toward the Gregori senior.

It was a clever ruse by the fourth-year varsity star.

Marsh had no intention of burying the ball in the infield. Instead, she quickly reeled the bat back and snapped it forward, launching a home run over the right-field wall at the Sacramento Softball Complex.

As she rounded third base, Marsh slapped hands with coach Alannah Jones, framing the brilliance of Jaguars softball in 2016.

For her ability with bat and ball, Marsh was named the Modesto Metro Conference’s MVP in a coaches’ vote.

For her ability to motivate and manage, Johns, a former Davis High and Modesto Junior College standout, was named the Coach of the Year.

Led by Marsh, a Delaware signee, and Johns, the Jaguars made school history by going undefeated in league play. After posting a 12-0 mark in the MMC, the Jaguars continued to chase history in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I tournament.

Sixth-seeded Gregori dispatched Franklin of Elk Grove in the first round and upset No. 3 Vacaville and No. 2 Woodcreek of Roseville to reach the semifinals for the first time.

The Jaguars were knocked into the consolation bracket by eventual champion Sheldon and suffered a season-ending loss to Tracy. However, Johns insisted the loss did little to diminish the success enjoyed under a decorated senior class.

Four players will play in college next year, including All-MMC first-team selections Jasmine Temple (Iona in New Rochelle, N.Y.) and Nicole Alexander (Saint Mary’s) as well as Coco Stewart (Dakota State in Madison, S.D.).

“They’ve earned a legacy in this program,” Johns said after the loss to Tracy. “They’ve done everything we’ve asked of them since Day One, and I know they’ll be successful at the next level.”

Marsh is the ponytailed ring leader, an established pitcher who punctuated her prep career with a bang of the bat. She blasted three home runs in an 8-2 victory over Downey in the regular-season finale, then duped Tracy in the playoffs.

“She’s proven that she can do that,” Johns said of Marsh’s ability to show bunt, pull back and still get a full swing on the pitch. “It slows the batter down and allows the ball to get deeper.”

Marsh had a team-high eight home runs and batted .406.

In the circle, there was no one better in the MMC. Marsh was 16-7 with a 2.20 ERA and a league-high 147 strikeouts.

In her third season on the bench, Johns took the program to new heights. Gregori went 18-8 overall and sharpened its teeth for league play against large-school opposition. Once MMC play began, the Jaguars faced little resistance.

Downey gave Gregori its toughest challenge in a 4-3 loss April 19. The Knights’ hopes for an upset ended on a walk-off, two-run bunt by sophomore Aaliyah Swan, whose trip around the bases was aided by a string of errors and mental lapses.

Gregori never looked back, winning its next six league games by a combined 66-3. The streak included a forfeit over Johansen, a game in which no score was reported.

Swan, Alexander and Temple were named to the All-MMC first team. They were joined by Deja Acosta and Ashley Bonham of Downey, Anna Aldrete and Alexis Guerra of Enochs and Jana Fontana, Destiny Guerrero and Brittney Meyers of Beyer.

The second team consisted of Raquel Chaidez, Taylor Espinosa and Sara Price of Enochs, Renee Downey and Jessica Wisuri of Beyer, Sierra Harper and Larissa Kilgore of Downey and Mehana Johns and Ashley McBay of Gregori.

This story was originally published June 1, 2016 at 7:21 PM with the headline "Marsh finishes career at Gregori High as MMC softball MVP."