Northern duo in control

Dominant.

The word works equally well in describing Bishop Manogue's Joe Wieland and Spanish Springs' Mallary Darby.

Few high school players approached the duo's performance this spring, and for their efforts, Wieland and Darby highlight the Review-Journal's Class 4A all-state baseball and softball teams.

Wieland, the baseball Player of the Year, was an imposing two-way player in leading Manogue to the state tournament. He went 7-2 with a 2.04 ERA and 115 strikeouts in just 72 innings. He walked 15 batters. At the plate, he hit .556 with 12 homers and a state-record 76 RBIs.

Darby led the Cougars to their second straight softball title in earning softball Player of the Year honors. She was 20-3 with a 0.22 ERA, with all three losses coming to out-of-state competition.

Wieland and Darby have been four-year varsity standouts for their teams, and both have made strides through their high school careers.

Wieland, a second-team all-state selection as a junior, emerged as the state's top player this spring.

"As good as he was last year, he was twice as good this year," Manogue coach Charles Oppio said. "He basically carried us."

Oppio said Wieland's fastball usually sat between 88 mph and 90 mph, but it was the movement that made it so difficult to hit.

"He can run the ball both ways," Oppio said. "You don't see that a lot with a high school kid. And as good as he is athletically and physically, mentally he's the best player I ever had."

Wieland, who has signed with San Diego State, averaged two RBIs per game despite having teams pitch around him for the last part of the season.

"Basically the only time he got to hit at the end of the year was when the bases were loaded," Oppio said. "They'd walk him with guys on first. He definitely took advantage of any RBI situations he had."

Darby was named the softball Player of the Year for the second straight year. She held opponents to a .084 batting average and walked only 10 all season.

"She's just a tremendous competitor," Spanish Springs coach Jeff Davidson said. "She really matured from her freshman year until now."

That maturity could be seen in the state title game, when Darby went to her change-up to get a strikeout to end the game.

"The girl for Reed was battling and fouled quite a few pitches off," Davidson said. "We called a change-up and struck her out to end the game. A few years ago, you couldn't get her to throw a change-up."

Darby will continue to develop her game at UNR.

"Her whole family's here. Everybody's here in Reno, so it was really a perfect fit for her," Davidson said.

Contact Prep Sports Editor Damon Seiters at dseiters@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4587.