LAKE COUNTY >> In three seasons as Kelseyville High School’s softball coach, Jeff Bour took the Knights from cellar dwellers to league champions. He had plenty of help from his players along the way, including the contributions of one Riley Goff.
Bour is the Coach of the Year on the 2017 edition of the All-Lake County softball team as selected by the Lake County Record-Bee. Goff, the team’s ultra-talented shortstop, is the easy pick for county most valuable player honors.
Sadly, neither Goff or Bour are returning in 2018, albeit for different reasons. Goff graduates from Kelseyville on Friday night and is headed to Sonoma State University to continue her volleyball career while Bour will be more than content to watch his daughter Paige, a freshman on the 2017 team, be coached by someone else the next three years. While the teaching and competitive end of the job readily appealed to Bour, other aspects of being head coach wore him down by his own admission.
During his three-year run at Kelseyville, the Knights made significant improvement each season. After going 7-14 overall and 5-10 in league in 2015, Kelseyville jumped to 10-8 and 7-7 in 2016, including an at-large berth in the playoffs. Loaded with veteran talent entering 2017, the Knights posted a 17-4 overall mark and 13-1 league record. Kelseyville received a first-round bye in the North Coast Section Division IV playoffs before beating Justin-Siena of Napa 12-2 in the quarterfinals. A 10-0 loss to eventual section champion Del Norte of Crescent City in the semifinals ended the Knights’ season.
Eight of Kelseyville’s nine starters were honored in some capacity on the All-League team, led by co-MVP Goff, who is one of the few position players to receive that honor. The same holds true for the All-County team where pitchers have historically dominated the MVP award.
Goff wrestled it away this season based on her glove work at shortstop, which helped anchor a strong Kelseyville defense, and with her incredible season at the plate. She led the Knights in batting average (.524), runs (27), hits (33), doubles (10), on-base percentage (.586) and slugging average (.936). Goff also tied for the team lead in triples (2) and RBIs (28).
First team
Earning first-team honors on the All-County squad are three of Goff’s teammates – outfielder Maddie West, a senior; first baseman Bib Hamner, a junior; and third baseman Tymeka Green, a junior. Other first-team selections are Lower Lake freshman pitcher Shelby Sapeta, the only freshman honored on this year’s first team, and teammates Jolean Scarborough, the Trojans’ senior shortstop, and sophomore first baseman Mikelynn Rowe. Clear Lake’s lone senior in 2017, outfielder Shyanne Chapin, and Upper Lake sophomore infielder/outfielder Cheyanne Obedoza, round out the first team.
Second team
Named to the All-County second team are Kelseyville’s Bailey Couey, a junior outfielder; Grace Davidson, a sophomore outfielder; Paige Bour, a freshman infielder/outfielder; and Allison Bryant, a freshman pitcher; Middletown’s Aly Ferguson, a junior shortstop, and senior pitcher Olivia Glosser; Lower Lake senior catcher Destiny Apodaca; and Clear Lake’s Regina Faalelea, a junior catcher, and Sara Ogden, a sophomore outfielder.
