Multi-talented Simmonds showcases skills, leadership in senior year

Ninth-year Monache softball coach Dave Koontz knew he had a rare talent in center field.

But even he was taken aback by the kind of senior year his best player had.

“Oh my gosh, it was probably one of the best — if not the best — senior seasons I’ve ever had a kid have; period,” Koontz said. “And I’ve had some really, really good players. It was just awesome.”

Jessica “Speedy” Simmonds earns the No. 9 spot in the Orange Belt Top 10 after a season where she thrived at the plate, on the base paths and in the outfield.

Her batting line was staggering, resembling the back of an Ichiro Suzuki baseball card or a video-game slugger with the difficulty set to rookie.

She hit .512 and slugged .721 from the leadoff spot. She led the team with 15 RBIs, bashed five triples and two home runs.

And she did it from both sides of the plate.

“She did something that I didn’t expect to see. It’s very difficult to be a switch hitter at any level,” Koontz said. “She was a very disciplined hitter. I’ve never had a hitter that could go from leadoff hitter to an RBI queen.” 

Hitting from the left side, Simmonds would look to tap the ball past the pitcher and use her speed (she stole 20 bases in 21 attempts) to beat the throw. From the right side in RBI situations is where the extra-base power emerged.

She thought she’d spent her last year in blue and gold on a young team trying to stay competitive, but this season surprised her. Her teammates, mostly in their first years on varsity, picked up the top-level game quicker than expected and teamed with the four-year starter to finish 9-3 in the EYL and advance to the Valley quarterfinals.

“This was definitely more than I expected,” Simmonds said by phone. “I thought this was gonna be a rebuilding year. I thought we were a young team, but our girls really stepped up this year.”

Koontz said Simmonds was instrumental in the younger players’ swift development.

“She was a great team leader. Mentally, she just had a great year,” he said. “She put them on her back and carried them at times.”

The Marauders were the only EYL team to beat Division II Valley champ Tulare Western. Simmonds tripled and scored in that March 31 game in the midst of a stretch where she tripled in four straight games. 

That might have been the best individual stretch of her season, but the apex of the Marauders’ year came on their rivals’ senior day.

Monache had beaten Porterville six straight times but was in danger of blowing the streak in embarrassing fashion. The Panthers had a 7-1 lead going into the sixth inning but they soon became witnesses to the progression of Monache’s youngsters. 

Simmonds singled and scored in the sixth and watched freshmen, sophomores and juniors keep the rally alive while she was cheering in the dugout. Batting right-handed, she singled and scored again in the seventh to tie the game.

When Chandra Jones scored the winning run in the ninth inning to put Monache ahead for good, Simmonds sprinted out of the dugout and greeted Jones with a leaping, Walter Payton-esque high five.  

“I remember telling the girls how proud I was. That game pretty much made my senior year. I’d seen (a comeback like that) in travel ball but never in school ball and most of those girls just play school ball. It was so huge for my team.”

Simmonds is in Boulder, Colo. right now playing in an 18 Gold Division national qualifying tournament for the Fresno Force. She’ll suit up for the reigning CVC champion softball team (Fresno City College) next spring.

No. 9: Jessica Simmonds

Switch-hitting Marauder shines in senior season

- First-team All-EYL center fielder

- Batted .512 with 15 RBIs, 31 runs, 5 triples, 2 home runs, 20 stolen bases, .721 slugging percentage

- Recorded 13 multi-hit games including a 5-hit, 4-RBI performance against Delano, March 26

- Tripled in 4 straight EYL games 

- Scored tying run in Monache’s 7-run comeback win over Porterville May 14

- Will play softball for Fresno City College