Help us choose our high school Athletes of the Week

Welcome to the Bay Area News Group (Mercury News & East Bay Times) Athlete of the Week poll.

For the entire academic year, we will provide a list of candidates who stood out over the previous week and allow you, the reader, to vote for the winner.

This week, we consider performances from April 21-26.

Polls close at 5 p.m. Wednesday.

Vote as many times as you’d like until then at mercurynews.com and eastbaytimes.com without using bots or any other artificial methods of voting.

Votes by email and after 5 p.m. Wednesday are not counted.

Winners are announced each Friday online and in the print edition of the Mercury News and East Bay Times sports sections.

Candidates for future Athlete of the Week polls can be nominated at highschools@bayareanewsgroup.com.

We accept nominations until 11 a.m. each Monday. We also review stats submitted to MaxPreps by coaches/team statisticians.

On to the nominees:

GIRLS

Jewel Cooper, Liberty softball: Cooper had three hits, four RBIs, a double and a home run for Liberty in a 17-1 win over Deer Valley. The sophomore also scored a run in an 8-0 win over Monterey Trail.

Lucy Esquivel, Mills softball: Esquivel led the charge with a homer, double, five RBIs and three runs scored as Mills beat Terra Nova 18-3. The sophomore had two hits and four RBIs in a 16-1 win over Menlo-Atherton and added a pair of hits and one more RBI in an 8-1 victory over St. Ignatius.

Star Gutierrez, Capuchino softball: The freshman star hit a three-run home run and stole a base in an 11-1 win over Woodside. She added four RBIs on three hits, including a triple and homer, in a 7-1 win over Inderkum, and three RBIs in a 10-0 win over King’s Academy.

Lola Jones, Hillsdale softball: Jones struck out 10 hitters and gave up just three hits to lead Hillsdale to a 6-0 win over Aragon. She also knocked in two runs on an RBI single in the fifth inning. She added another shutout in a 2-0 win over Carlmont, allowing four hits and striking out seven batters against two walks.

Julia Lambert, Alameda softball: Lambert allowed only one hit and struck out 11 hitters in a 3-0 nonleague win over Arroyo. She had two hits of her own in a 7-3 win over Mt. Eden, also driving in a run at the dish. The sophomore pitched five no-hit innings against Mt. Eden as well, striking out 10.

Ella Lewis, Design Tech softball: The junior went 2 for 2 against Luis Valdez Leadership Academy on Monday, 6 for 6 against El Primero on Wednesday while hitting for the cycle and 4 for 4 against KIPP San Jose on Friday. Overall, she had 14 RBIs for the week. Lewis also pitched four innings in relief and got the win against El Primero, giving up two earned runs. On Friday she got the win pitching a complete seven inning game against KIPP San Jose, giving up three earned runs.

Jaime Oakland, St. Francis softball: Oakland had a two-run single and went 3 for 5 overall in St. Francis’ 10-3 win over Gilroy on Tuesday. She added two hits and two RBIs in a 12-2 win over Los Gatos. The junior is hitting .642 this season.

Naliyah Orozco, James Logan softball: The freshman knocked in five runs with a homer and double as Logan played a tight extra-inning game against Amador Valley. She added an RBI in a loss to Granada.

Alanys Robertson, Castro Valley softball: The sophomore pitched a two-hitter, homered and drove in three runs as Castro Valley beat San Leandro 11-0. She added a hit and three runs scored in a 24-0 win over Mt. Eden.

Gianna Willes, Livermore softball: Willes led Livermore as she went 3 for 4 with two RBIs and a home run as the Cowboys beat Carondelet 9-8. The sophomore got on base twice more via hit by pitch. She added a single in a loss to California.

BOYS

Alonzo Alvarez, Heritage baseball: Alvarez was 4 for 4 with a home run and five RBIs to lead Heritage to a 19-4 win over Pittsburg. Heritage (14-4) hosts Freedom today.

Spencer Bartlinski, Willow Glen baseball: Bartlinski, a senior, struck out three and allowed two hits and no earned runs across four innings in Willow Glen’s 3-1 win over Branham. Willow Glen is 13-6 and is scheduled to play Christopher at home on Wednesday.

Roman Bartosh, De La Salle baseball: The junior allowed one hit and struck out 11 in De La Salle’s 2-0 win over San Ramon Valley. De La Salle is 15-3 this season.

Giovanni Bernal, South San Francisco baseball: Bernal went 3 for 3 and knocked in six runs to lead South City to a 14-0 win over Priory. Bernal also struck out five and allowed just two hits for South San Francisco, which is 15-4.

Crusoe Buzzard, Lincoln-San Jose track and field: The senior crossed the finish line in 40.87 to take first place in the 300-meter hurdles at the Clash of Titans meet at Skyline High.

Kyle Cooke, Encinal baseball: Cooke, a junior, pitched a complete-game shutout, striking out eight and giving up six hits to lead Encinal to a 5-0 win over Alameda. Encinal (13-6) hosts Castro Valley on Wednesday.

Brennan DeCoite, Foothill track and field: DeCoite, a senior, took first place in the 400-meter race at the Foothill-Granada-Livermore meet with a time of 52.75.

Estevan Duarte, Granada baseball: The senior knocked in the go-ahead run to lead Granada to a 1-0 victory over Foothill. Granada (16-4, 8-1) sits in first place in the East Bay Athletic League.

Andre Valdespino, Pioneer baseball: The senior pitcher struck out three, allowed just one hit and one earned run to lead Pioneer to a 4-1 win over Leigh. Pioneer (8-9, 5-3) handed Leigh its first Blossom Valley Athletic League Mt. Hamilton Division loss.

Darrion Wesley, Los Altos baseball: Wesley’s two-run RBI single in the top of the fifth inning helped lift Los Altos over Bellarmine in a 4-3 win. Los Altos is 15-4 this season.