LAKE COUNTY >> If Santa puts this kind of Cole in your stocking, count your blessings.
Cole Brodnansky, senior catcher of the Clear Lake High School varsity baseball team, is the most valuable player on the 2015 edition of the All-North Central League I baseball team as recently selected by a vote of the league’s coaches. It’s the second straight year the Cardinals’ catcher has earned MVP honors. After a 13-1 run through the league in 2014, Clear Lake went 14-0 this season and the strong play of Brodnansky behind the plate as well as his red-hot bat is a big reason why.
Among Lake County hitters, Brodnansky led his peers in hits (40), home runs (4) and RBIs (34).
Clear Lake won its first 26 games this season — including all 14 league contests — before falling to Head-Royce of Oakland 7-3 in the semifinal round of the North Coast Section Division V playoffs.
Joining Brodnansky on the All-League first team are teammates Dillon Williams, a senior pitcher/infielder; Jared Strate, a senior infielder; and Jake Egger, a senior infielder. Williams and Strate are both making their second straight appearance on the team.
Other Lake County first-team selections are Middletown senior pitcher/infielder Tyler Holt and Kelseyville junior pitcher/infielder Noah Lyndall.
Rounding out the first-team squad are Cloverdale junior Chris Harms, Willits senior Dimitri Betts, St. Helena junior Dominic Collins, and Fort Bragg junior Kaylor Sullivan.
Five Lake County players received second-team honors, including senior pitcher Jordan Chana of Clear Lake, who was undefeated on the season at 10-0. Also honored were Clear Lake junior Brendan Coakley, Clear Lake senior Matt Heller, Middletown senior Cody Chorjel, and Kelseyville sophomore Logan Barrick. It’s Heller’s second straight appearance on the All-League team.
Rounding out the second-team squad are Willits junior Blake Leslie, Cloverdale senior David Watson, St. Helena junior Alex Archer, and Cloverdale senior Jonathan Alvarez.
Each team received one honorable mention. Players selected were Kelseyville junior Sambhava Baird, Middletown junior Chris Davis, Lower Lake senior Tony Jones, Clear Lake junior John Vertrees, Fort Bragg sophomore Steven Duran, St. Helena junior Jon Wheeler, Cloverdale senior Greg Scaramella, and Willits junior Brandon Slater.
The All-NCL I softball team will be featured in Wednesday’s print edition of the Record-Bee.
