Historic run puts Alvarez in rare company

PREP STORIES OF THE YEAR FOR 2024

Everett Alvarez High teammates, from left, Jazzy Riemedio, Shanae Figueroa, Michelle Wallace, and Dani Amendola celebrate after receiving the first-place plaque for beating East Nicolaus in the CIF NorCal Division IV Softball Championships in Salinas. PHOTOS BY RAUL EBIO — HERALD CORRESPONDENT

Everett Alvarez High starter Dani Amendola delivers in the first inning against East Nicolaus during the CIF NorCal Division IV Softball Championships in Salinas.

Everett Alvarez High shortstop Amariz Perez steals second base as East Nicolaus’ Adriana Nebuloni applies a late tag during the CIF NorCal Division IV Softball Championships in Salinas.

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By John Devine

jdevine@montereyherald.com

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the second of five stories looking back at the highlights of the 2024 sports year in local high school sports.

SALINAS >> The point of frustration boiled over during a five-game losing streak in which Alvarez High was outscored 30-6, falling below .500 late in the softball season.

For a program that was coming off two Central Coast Section divisional softball titles and opened the season with a record nine-game winning streak, the Eagles were at a crossroads.

Head coach Andy Meza was out of speeches. So he changed the dynamics of practice, asking his players to play anywhere they wanted.

The idea was to bring fun back to a sport for a group of teenagers who perhaps were feeling the pressure of meeting expectations.

“I just wanted to see them have fun again,” Meza said. “So I let them play whatever position they wanted. I saw smiles come back. We had to step back and remember how it started.”

What followed was a historic finish as the Eagles ended the season the way they started it, with a school-record nine-game winning streak.

Not only did Alvarez capture its third straight CCS divisional title, it continued its season by collecting the program and school’s first ever Northern California Division IV title.

For a team that wasn’t even sure it was going to make the postseason six weeks earlier, the Eagles became just the second softball program in the county to capture a NorCal title.

“It was a long battle,” Meza said. “I know the girls worked hard. We got lost at mid-season. The goal isn’t to win. It’s to grow these girls, to teach them to fight back. That’s what meant a lot to me.”

No question the Eagles rode the right arm of Dani Amendola, who allowed just one run in five postseason games, shutting out all three teams in the Northern California tournament.

The junior right-handed hurler gave up just five runs — four in one game — over her final 54 innings of work, putting the program in glorified company.

“Honestly, that kid is one of the coolest kids out there,” Meza said. “Dani is so calm. She can shake things off and focus on what she’s supposed to do. She’s very humble.”

Yet, for as good as Amendola has been in her first three years, it’s been the Eagles’ defense and execution at the plate that has propelled them to the greatest three-year run of any sport at Alvarez.

“I don’t want to put too much pressure on one kid,” Meza said. “I remind the kids we have to do this together as a team. Everyone has a role.”

The Eagles had chosen not to go to the NorCal playoffs in 2023 because half the team had graduated and had other commitments.

While Alvarez closed the Pacific Coast Athletic League Gabilan Division season with three straight wins, it still needed to win a play-in game just to get into the postseason.

Amendola handcuffed Carmel with 13 strikeouts, while driving in two runs in a 4-0 win to get the Eagles seeded into the CCS Division III playoffs.

From that point, the confidence was back for the Eagles, as Amendola struck out 29 hitters in 20 innings, propelling the program to a third straight section title.

Just one other team in the county has ever won three straight or more CCS titles, that being Notre Dame, which ran off a state record nine during one stretch in the mid-1990s.

Contributions at the plate were coming from the bottom of the order as Jazzy Remedio and Alexis Meza combined for three hits and five RBI in the semifinal win.

Amendoloa’s last three outings in the circle were gems, tossing 21 scoreless innings with 32 strikeouts in identical 1-0 wins.

Because of graduation, the Eagles bumped their NorCal semifinal game up four hours early to accommodate their seniors in a 1-0 win.

The Eagles defense rose to the occasion in the NorCal title game when Anaiyah Brown threw out a runner at the plate, while freshman shortstop Amaris Perez made a diving catch in the seventh inning.

While players embraced in the circle after the final out in a 1-0 win over East Nicolaus, Meza whipped tears from his eyes, perhaps recounting the journey.

“It was just a good feeling,” Meza said. “These girls didn’t know they could accomplish this. We were at a point in the season when it wasn’t going our way. To be able to turn it around in the manner we did made for an emotional moment.”