The state’s home run leaders — Horizon’s Lilly Mohr and Erie’s Addie Osborne — are on a torrid pace this fall season, both currently with seven in 10 games.
Mohr, hitting .700 on the year, homered in five straight games before finally going without one in a 12-0 win over Loveland Tuesday.
Osborne, meanwhile, crushed her seventh well over her home centerfield wall in a 15-0 victory over Legacy.
Only Mississippi preps player Maci Lowery has more this season, per MaxPreps — with 10 in 23 games.
In this week’s look-in on softball, let’s dive into a few statistical leaders in each classification.
Class 5A
Home runs: Mohr and Osborne (seven).
The state’s most home runs in a season over the past decade came from Delta grad Lily Lockhart, who in 2016, smacked 19 of them in 22 games.
And while Fort Hays State-commit Mohr and Rutgers-pledge Osborne are a bit off that pace, it isn’t by much.
The two’s power influx in 2023 comes after Mohr had six home runs in all of 2022 and Osborne seven. As it stands this year, they are one ahead of Chatfield’s Klara Van Beuge, who hasn’t hit one since Aug. 25, and has six in 11 games.
Strikeouts: Rocky Mountain senior Haisley Leskinen (84).
Leskinen fanned 13 in a 12-2 win over Fairview Tuesday, giving her the 5A lead.
The senior, who has gone 3-1 this year, while punching out more than 1 ½ batters a frame, has helped lead the Lobos to a 6-3-1 start.
RBIs: Denver South sophomore Emma Gibson (27)
Gibson is averaging three RBIs per game for the Ravens (5-4), who have won their first four games in the 5A/4A/3A Denver Prep League.
She is hitting .793 on the season, only behind Grandview’s Ashley Miller’s .846 average in 5A.
Class 4A
Stolen bases: Coronado senior Elexys Trujillo (20).
The Cougars are just 3-8 on the season, but Trujillo has been something of a statistical phenomenon for them.
In a 21-20 loss to Rampart Friday, she had three of her team’s 11 stolen bases.
In 4A, she is one ahead of Vista PEAK Prep’s Jaya Gray and, of course, Frederick’s Mackenzie Sais, who after having the nation’s second-best bag count last season at 62, has 19 in eight games in 2023.
RBIs: Pine Creek senior Avery Dial and Air Academy senior Mikayla Hancock (23).
Dial added her 23rd for Pine Creek (10-2) in a 14-2 win over Doherty Tuesday.
Hancock had three in a 4-0 win over Lewis-Palmer eight days ago before the Kadets (8-1) suffered their first loss of the season Wednesday, falling 10-0 to Discovery Canyon.
Strikeouts: Mesa Ridge senior Lucia Quintana (81).
The senior has pitched all but one inning this season for Mesa Ridge (6-3), totaling 81 Ks in 53 1/3 innings. She struck out seven of the nine hitters she faced in a three-inning perfect game Tuesday, beating Canon City 15-0.
Class 3A
Strikeouts: Lyons senior Ceci Chiaravalle (92).
The Lions senior has double-digit Ks in five of her nine outings. Her 263 strikeouts last season were second-best in the state to Lutheran and 4A player of the year Hailey Maestretti.
Her 92 strikeouts this year are currently sixth-best in the nation.
Stolen bases: Holyoke senior Samantha Seger (23).
Seger is currently ninth in the nation with 23 stolen bases in nine games. Last week, she had seven in a doubleheader against Burlington — a two-game sweep that saw the Dragons (5-4) score a combined 44 runs.
In all of 2022, Seger had 19 stolen bases.
RBIs: The Academy senior Isabella Bruntz (24).
Bruntz has driven in a run in every game except for the Wildcats’ 10-0 loss to 5A Erie last month. After having 31 RBIs last season, she is averaging three in each of The Academy’s eight wins on the year.
She added two doubles and her 24th of the year in an 8-3 win over Standley Lake last week.