DAILY PILOT NEWPORT-MESA SOFTBALL DREAM TEAM:

The numbers may not tell the whole story for Taylor West, but they definitely don’t lie.

Fifteen home runs this softball season for the Estancia High senior, breaking her own school record she set as a junior. Twenty-six longballs for her career, another total believed to be a Newport-Mesa record.

West has displayed power not seen in the area since Ann Marie Topps, who went on to play at the University of Oregon, was crushing the ball for Costa Mesa in 2003.

West batted .557 this year and slugged 1.537, helping Estancia win its second straight Orange Coast League title. She also tallied nine triples and a team-high 50 runs batted in.

“I just got back into my mode of releasing early,” West said. “I wasn’t expecting [all the home runs]. It just felt nice hitting the ball that far, beating last year’s record.”

But again, that’s not the whole story for West, the Daily Pilot Dream Team Player of the Year for the second straight year.

Co-Coach Tommy Rausch was impressed with how the team captain, one of three for the Eagles, displayed a brand of quiet leadership. Nothing new for the senior West, a three-sport athlete who accumulated 12 combined varsity letters in golf, soccer and softball.

“She’s a winner,” Rausch said. “I think she was the player on the team that everyone looked to for a sense of direction. She built off the numbers that she had last year and had a tremendous year again.”

West, a first-team All-Orange Coast League selection who plans to walk on at Cal State Fullerton, also led Estancia with her glove. The Eagles had little experience in the outfield other than West in center field, but she made enough highlight-reel diving plays to make up for it.

“She anchored our outfield,” Rausch said. “She took away a lot of extra-base hits.”

The Eagles could put sophomore Amy Hartwell No. 2, West No. 3 and senior Abby Koff No. 4. The potent trio, all of whom hit better than .500, helped Estancia score nearly 11 runs per game.

West, Koff and fellow senior Haylee Whitney, who hit fifth, were all team captains.

“We took the role of guiding the girls,” West said. “We were trying to set an example, show the girls that we had the heart to win league. It was nice having everyone on the same page.”

But it was West who had the power numbers that could jump out at opponents, sort of like the ball jumping off of her hot bat.

“I’m really happy,” West said. “I’ve had a good four years at the school. It’s kind of a good ending chapter, winning league again.”

Joining West on this year’s 11-player Dream Team are her Estancia teammates Hartwell, Koff and Whitney. Also making the team are Costa Mesa’s Emily Pulaski, Brieanna Ramirez and Sami Feinstein, as well as Sage Hill’s Katie McKeon and Sadie Hoeschen, Newport Harbor’s Jane Messersmith and Corona del Mar’s Leslee Kaczmarek.

EMILY PULASKI

Costa Mesa, senior

The pitcher and catcher batted a team-high .569 for the Mustangs, nearly identical to her team-leading pace of .561 as a junior. A four-year varsity starter, Pulaski also stepped up and pitched for the Mustangs, who went 11-11, 5-4 in the Orange Coast League. A first-team All-Orange Coast League selection, Pulaski got the win as Costa Mesa outlasted Estancia, 13-12, in the teams’ league opener.

Pulaski, bound for Waldorf College, scored 22 runs and stole a team-high 14 bases. However, Coach Marcus Franco was just as impressed with his team captain’s leadership skills on a Costa Mesa team that started several freshmen.

“Few athletes stay with the program after they leave, in terms of impacting young players,” Franco said. “But Emily was like an assistant coach to me this year. Very few high school athletes have strong leadership qualities, but she just ran with it and embraced it. She will definitely be missed. Just a wonderful person.”

This is Pulaski’s second Dream Team selection.

JANE MESSERSMITH

Newport Harbor, senior

The team captain and four-year starter anchored what was at times a difficult season for Newport Harbor (7-16, 0-10 in the Sunset League) playing pitcher and shortstop. The Bucknell-bound standout batted a team-high .580. Her five home runs, 24 RBIs and 26 runs scored were also all team-highs.

As a pitcher, Messersmith, a first-team All-Sunset League and three-time Dream Team selection, went 4-8 with a 4.80 ERA and 89 strikeouts in 66 2/3 innings.

With the leadership Messersmith provided, Sailors Coach Melissa Branch said she wouldn’t be surprised to see Messersmith become a coach one day.

KATIE MCKEON

Sage Hill, senior

McKeon’s mother, Coach Beckie Gomez, called her daughter “the cornerstone” of the Lightning, but that wasn’t just parental bias talking.

The team’s only senior, McKeon stepped up and pitched many games, even though shortstop is her natural position. She helped the Lightning to a 6-5 league record, good for fourth place. McKeon, a four-year starter and three-year team captain, makes her third straight Dream Team.

She was second on the team with a .333 batting average, which she upped to .412 during league play. McKeon also had 18 stolen bases in league.

“The only senior, so by default you’re the leader, but she would’ve been the leader no matter what,” Gomez said. “She gave stability to a very young team. She was the vocal leader of the team, as well, when we really needed to help the younger players move along and feel successful.“

AMY HARTWELL

Estancia, sophomore

Hartwell, the Orange Coast League MVP, began the year as the Eagles’ pitcher. Eventually, she got more and more time at third base, where she played solid defense.

On her travel ball team, Hartwell plays catcher.

“She’s the best catcher in our league, and she played third base for us,” Rausch said. “Her softball skills are very polished for a sophomore. She was very aggressive on the base paths.”

Hartwell, also a volleyball standout, batted a Newport-Mesa-area best .623 for the Eagles. She led the team with 41 runs, 47 hits, 10 doubles and eight stolen bases. As a pitcher, she was 7-6 with a 4.73 ERA.

ABBY KOFF

Estancia, senior

Koff also adjusted for the Eagles. A year after playing left field, the Harvard-bound Koff played first base. With her ability to throw strikes, she also developed into a stopper for Estancia, even if Rausch joked that her slow-moving pitch “defied physics.”

A first-team All-Orange Coast League selection, Koff also shined as the Eagles’ cleanup hitter. She batted .613 with 27 RBIs, six doubles and seven triples. As a pitcher, the three-sport athlete (she also played tennis and basketball) was 4-1 with a team-best 2.54 ERA.

“She threw strikes and she had the mentality of, ‘Let them hit it, and we’ll get them out.’ ” Rausch said. “I couldn’t be happier to coach her in basketball and softball. She’s a great girl to work with. It was so easy to say, ‘Abby, you’re playing first base,’ and it was, ‘OK!’ ”

HAYLEE WHITNEY

Estancia, senior

A catcher headed to Santa Ana College, she also swung a hot bat for from the No. 5 spot in the order. She batted .394 with 22 RBIs and six doubles, tied for second on the team.

She also moved behind the plate from the outfield this year, and adjusted well to the Eagles’ several pitchers, including Hartwell and Koff, and ending the year with sophomore Nicole Marlborough.

Of Estancia’s three team captains, Rausch said Whitney, a first-team all-league selection, was also the one who was the vocal leader.

“She was kind of our glue,” he said.

BRIEANNA RAMIREZ

Costa Mesa, senior

Another four-year varsity starter who started the year at third base, Ramirez also pitched and caught as needed. Her .382 batting average was second on the team, she knocked in a team-high 15 runs and added six stolen bases. Ramirez, also a first-team All-Orange Coast League selection, earned the win in the Mustangs’ 11-3 victory over Estancia on May 1 that allowed Costa Mesa take the season series from their rivals.

Ramirez’s father, A.J., is a football coach, which Franco said he could appreciate.

“She comes from a coaching family,” Franco said. “We both come from football dads, and that’s a lot of pressure, but Brieanna handled it beautifully. She’s a strong leader like Emily.”

SADIE HOESCHEN

Sage Hill, sophomore

Hoeschen was Sage Hill’s other experienced travel-ball player, besides McKeon. She did a good job being patient behind the plate as the Lightning lacked a true pitcher.

Hoeschen, a first-team All-Academy League selection, led the team with a .492 batting average and .592 on-base percentage. She wrapped out 30 hits, including three doubles and three triples.

“She was a defensive leader and another vocal leader,” Gomez said.

LESLEE KACZMAREK

Corona del Mar, junior

Kaczmarek moved from first base to catcher this year for Coach Laura Mayberry’s team, which finished 4-17, 2-6 in the Pacific Coast League. A second-team all-league selection, Kaczmarek, also a water polo standout, provided a good bat as she hit .250, second on the team. She had 12 hits in 17 games. Mayberry said Kaczmarek also provided good leadership behind the plate.

“She has great defense at [first base] but we needed her behind the plate,” Mayberry said. “She’s a natural athlete. She has the ability to take command in a game situation. She turned out to be a really good catcher. She has a gun for an arm, and offensively, she has a lot of power.”

This is Kaczmarek’s second Dream Team selection.

SAMI FEINSTEIN

Costa Mesa, freshman

Her .348 average ranked third on the team, impressive production from the 5-foot second baseman. But Feinstein was also impressive with her glove, with which she routinely made the play on anything in range. Franco said Feinstein, a first-team All-Orange Coast League selection who also played varsity volleyball and soccer this year, routinely earned praise from coaches on opposing teams.

“She was a little mighty mite,” Franco said. “She represents everything I want in an athlete — sheer tenacity, energy and competitive drive. She’s a battler.”

MATT SZABO may be reached at (714) 966-4614 or at [email protected].