Puglia award winners named
The awards will be presented tonight during a pregame ceremony at Raley Field. This year's recipients in softball were Christina Merrida (Pioneer HS, DIII), Nicole Kociemba (Casa Roble HS, DII), Leticia Cisneros-Coyne (St. Francis HS, DI) and Cory Partch (Vacaville HS, DI). The winners in baseball were Robby Alcombrack (Bear River HS, DIII), Tyler Robertson (Bella Vista HS, DII) and Lars Anderson (Jesuit HS, DI).
All of tonight's winners were recognized for their efforts, and a donation will be made to their high school's baseball and softball teams in their names from the River Cats.
"For the seventh consecutive year, the River Cats are proud to honor the best and the brightest of high school baseball and softball players in the Sacramento region with the Robert K. Puglia Awards," River Cats CEO Art Savage said. "This year's six winners are exemplary scholar athletes and model teammates as well."
A board of qualified individuals chose the winners based on their play, leadership, sportsmanship and academic efforts. The selection committee for this year's Puglia Awards consisted of the following individuals from the Sacramento community: Mark McDermott (Sacramento Bee), Pat Gomez (former major leaguer), Cuno Barragan (former major leaguer), Len Frizzi (Sac-Joaquin CIF), John Baker (father of Dusty Baker), Gene Frechette (Dusty Baker School of Baseball), Mary Jo Truesdale (Sheldon High School Softball Coach), Mike Loomis (Mira Loma High School Softball Coach), Jim Pagliaroni (former major leaguer), Bob Oliver (former major league player and coach), Harry Dunlop (former major leaguer), Tony Asaro (Sacramento River Cats Senior Director of Community Relations) and Bob Hemond (Sacramento River Cats Executive Vice President).
Robert K. Puglia, the award's namesake, was the Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeal (Third Appellate District) in Sacramento from Nov. 27, 1974, until Nov. 20, 1998. He was appointed to the Superior Court in August 1971 by former Governor Ronald Reagan, and was named an Associate Justice in June 1974. In honor of Puglia, who passed away in 2005, there will be a special presentation to honor the man and his devotion to amateur baseball in the Sacramento region.