California State Pitcher of the Year: Austin Steeves

LOS ANGELES, CALIF. - With the conclusion of the championships of all divisions in California we have announced the 2023 California Player of the Year (Trent Caraway) and now we are excited to announce the 2023 California Pitcher of the Year. This junior left-hander emerged not only as the top pitcher in the state, but also had a season that was notable on the national level.

The statistics are eye-popping and better yet, significant not only as an individual, but they had a direct correlation to his team's success. Casa Grande HS (Petaluma) took home the CIF-North Coast Section D2 title and ultimately fell in the CIF-NorCal D2 final, when this pitcher only had nine outs of pitching eligiblity remaining... and oh how he utlilized those outs. More on that in a bit.

We are excited to announce that LHP Austin Steeves (2024) of Casa Grande HS has earned the 2023 PBR California Pitcher of the Year award! 

2023 PBR California Pitcher of the Year

PITCHING STATS 

Casa won the Vine Valley Athletic League and entered the NCS D2 playoffs as the #1 seed. Steeves took the ball in the first game and threw a shutout as the Gauchos won 3-0 vs Northgate HS. In the semi-final vs Redwood (Larkspur) he threw five shoutout innings and the Casa bats were loud vs a senior lefty who was his league's pitcher of the year. When seeing both left-handers opposing each other day, it was clear Steeves was in a whole different class vs his counterpart.

Then came the final vs Maria Carrillo three days later. Casa took a 7-2 lead after the third inning and went on to win 9-2. Casa went to Steeves to throw the final four innings, though the game was seemingly in hand. He slammed the door as the Gauchos won their first section title in nearly two decades. Next up would be the first CIF regional game for the program.

Casa was given the #3 seed in CIF-NorCal D2 and had a home game vs Live Oak HS. Live Oak has two of the top senior pitchers in the state but their coach didn't start either one, presumably trying to steal an inning or two and get to one of his two aces. Casa started Steeves and that decision proved to be a significant one. The Gauchos put up a 3-spot in the first inning before Live Oak would bring in 2023 RHP Landon Stump (UCLA). The early three runs were plenty for Steeves, who hurled yet another shutout in a 6-0 win. The decision to start the team's best pitcher was the right one and though the Live Oak offense didn't appear to pose much of a threat that day, he stayed in to finish the game.

Casa Grande then traveled to Chico to take on Pleasant Valley HS for the CIF-NorCal D2 semi-final, with Steeves manning his customary spot in CF and in the lead-off spot. It was a great game, full of drama, twists and turns, comebacks and holding off rallies. Ultimately Casa won 9-6 but in the back half of the game Steeves (went 2-for-3, w/run scored) had to come out of the game with some leg discomfort. That he couldn't finish the game indicated that he was really hurting. Given 86.1 innings pitched at that point (17 apperances in 30 team games), 30 games played in total and 102 plate appearances, it's a marvel he was as strong as he was all season.

Ultimately Casa was defeated by St. Ignatius College Prep (San Francisco) in the CIF final, by a score of 3-0. Going into the game Steeves only had nine outs left that he could accumulate, per the state's pitching usage rules. That he wasn't able to start in CF that day and wasn't in the line-up ended up looming large for the Gauchos. The leg discomfort kept him off the field and out of the batter's box, but not off the mound. He came in with the bases loaded and one out in the top of the 2nd inning, Casa down 2-0. Though he did hit the first batter he faced in a two strike count, pushing the SI lead to 3-0, he would go on to give up nothing else. Further, he recorded a strikeout for eight of the nine outs he was allowed, bringing his total to 158, second in the nation. It was the last incredible effort by a player who was tasked with doing so much for his team.