LJ softball: 'Metty' rocking the ball

Sophomore shortstop Roxanne Metcalf (second

from left) joins infielders in congratulating

pitcher Emmy Cardenas (6) after a strikeout:

from far left, 3b Kaitlin Murphy (25), Metcalf,

Cardenas, 2b Vivian Jensen (11), and

JC Taylor (far right).

(Photos by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

With senior star Emmy Cardenas hitting .714 and holding a 7-0 record from the pitching circle, freshman Maddie Ehlert crushing the ball at a .500 clip, and fellow ninth-grader JC Taylor pounding the ball at .433, the main surprise for the 2023 Vikings is the extreme productivity of sophomore Roxanne Metcalf.

Metcalf, who played for Coach Anthony Sarain as a freshman, has come back in her 10th-grade year to carry a whopping .500 average in 41 plate appearances through La Jolla's first 12 games. (She missed one game.)

Roxanne has coaxed 10 walks, but she also has 14 hits in 28 at-bats--probably one of the reasons pitchers have walked her so much to avoid the damage she'll cause.

In the Vikings' opener Feb. 21, she started at first base against Monte Vista. On Sat., March 25, in a morning tournament game against Coastal Academy, she was planted at shortstop, leading the infield with junior Kaitlin Murphy to her right at third base.

Hitting in the fifth spot behind Cardenas in the third position and Taylor in fourth, Metcalf has driven in 17 RBI's, second only to Cardenas with 36. Ehlert is right behind her with 14 RBI's.

Another note: Roxanne has only struck out two times, which is phenomenal (Cardenas once, same as Ehlert and Murphy).

Viking teammates congratulate Kaitlin Murphy (25)

at the plate after she crushed her first-ever home run

in high school competition in the fifth inning

Sat., March 25, versus Coastal Academy.

La Jolla won in a tournament-shortened

game, 3-1.