14 hours Ago
LIVERMORE, Calif. — Granada senior first baseman Delaney Aumua always aspired to hit like and carry herself like NCAA home run queen Jocelyn Alo, the former Oklahoma star who slugged 122 round-trippers in her career. Lo — Alo — and behold on Tuesday afternoon, unbeknownst to her, coaches or family, she did a darned good imitation.
The powerful 5-foot-10 slugger, an Auburn signee who throws left and bats right, belted her second home run of the game and 15th of the season in a 10-8 East Bay Athletic League win at Dublin. It was her 43rd career home run as a four-year starter, which turns out is a CIF North Coast Section record, bettering the mark of 42, according to the Cal-Hi Sports record book , set by Kylee Perez. Perez set that record over a four-year span at Alhambra of Martinez from 2011 to 2015, before a stellar career at UCLA.
Granada 16-year head coach Johnny Heinz, who updated stats on MaxPreps throughout his tenure, didn’t in 2023 and when he supplied us the data, it was discovered Tuesday night she had broken the mark. Aumua also tied the 155-school section’s single-season home run mark, also by Perez in 2012. She has two regular season games and all of postseason — potentially up to six more games for the 12-9 Matadors — to break that record.
“Doesn’t surprise me at all,” Heinz said of the record when thinking of Aumua coming in as a freshman. “She’s the best hitter I’ve seen in 26 years of coaching. She’s an absolutely phenomenal player, great defensively, and a pleasure to coach.
And as great a softball player as she is, she’s 10 times a better person. The kids love her. How could you not?” Her lovability is tied to her humbleness, a big easy smile, her quiet demeanor and an ultra consistent, workmanlike approach.
It’s very much in the mold of Alo, who hit 30 home runs her freshman season at Oklahoma and 34 in each of her last two seasons, when she drove home 89 and 85. Those were in 60- and 62-game seasons. Aumua, who shares Alo’s Polynesian descent and hitting coach (Shawn Shing), has been similarly constant in her 75-game prep career belting 10, 8, 10 and this season 15 home runs, driving in 33, 30, 30 and 28 runs.
Her battling average — .421 in her career — has been .406, .
443, .362 and this season .463, when she’s walked 25 times and struck out but two.
Family first “I’ve always looked up to (Alo),” Aumua said. “I wanted to be like her in mind set and approach and copy what she’s done.” What she’s done at Granada has been a work of art, Heinz said, in terms of approach, productivity and and by-example leadership.
“If you don’t love coaching a person and player like Delaney, you should never get into coaching,” he said. “She’s an absolute pleasure.” Amua points only in one direction to credit her success, and she does it while rounding third base after each home run.
At virtually every one of her games, including Tuesday, her mom Vanessa, dad Ronald, sister Marley and brother Nico cheer enthusiastically for their powerful, humble, talented daughter/sibling. “Every time I round third base I point to the sky — all glory to God,” Aumua said. “I take pride in my culture and my family.
The Samoan culture teaches you that all you really need in life is family and faith.” She had plenty of growing up, cousins galore — “perhaps 20,” in Livermore and neighboring East Bay towns like Antioch, Brentwood and Union City. “The kids were highly competitive in everything — board games, kickball, chores,” Aumua said.
“My dad played college football at Northridge and met my mom, a cheerleader when both went to San Lorenzo High School. Sports was pretty much in my blood.” She followed Marley on the soccer field while also playing youth softball, both at the travel ball level.
He mother said by age 11 she had to choose between the two sports, so she picked softball. “I love the competitiveness of (softball),” Aumua said. “I love the friendships and relationships you built in the game.
” It was around this time that youth coaches Chrissy and James Booe convinced Heinz out to watch Aumua and some talented, dedicated teammates who were still 4-5 years from even getting to Granada. “They told me you gotta see (Aumua), she’s something else,” Heinz said. “They weren’t kidding.
” Blood, sweat, tears She signed up for the Lady Magic travel program out of Vacaville. The summer heading into her freshman season at Granada, she smacked 32 home runs is what Heinz heard so he knew he was getting something special. Still, a 14-year-old playing with 18-year-olds is not easy.
With her quiet competence, work ethic and powerful swing, Aumua made it so. “She knew how to compete and it was obvious she was and is a genuinely good person,” Heinz said. “The other kids recognized it.
She just worked and worked and was the ultimate team player by example.” The Matadors her freshman season were loaded, led by seniors Makayla Winchell (.527, eight home runs, 59 hits, 26 streaks, 46 runs, 35 RBI ) and Mariah Ayala (.
479, 46 hits, .26 RBI). They went 26-5, won the loaded East Bay Athletic League along with rival Livermore at 12-1 but lost in the North Coast Section finals to Heritage 8-0.
Aumua did more than her part, hitting .406 with 10 home runs and 33 RBI, starting the path for a storied career that has finished off in record-setting fashion. When told of her record-setting home run on Tuesday the day after, Aumua didn’t bask in the glory, but shared in the honor with those who helped her get there, including teammates — Granada and Lady Magic — Shing, her conditioning coach Alex Weeks, all her coaches including Heinz, Ondray Cooper, Aaron Castro, the Booes, and mostly her family.
Not just her immediate tribute, but all those first-cousins she used to battle in board games and kickball. “It’s really just the result of all the work,” she said. “All the early mornings, all the running, and training and trusting the process.
There’s a lot of blood, sweat and tears that goes into it, and all the support of everyone over a long period of time.” That long haul, the blood and sweat, can lead to tears as it did for Aumua she in the fall of 2023, about the time she had committed to Auburn. Aumua wouldn’t call it burn out, but between the pressures of school, recruiting and conditioning she confided in her family she needed a break.
“My grades were falling and I wasn’t performing up to my standards,” she said. “I needed to connect to my real life and happiness and my family recognized that. For my mental health, I just stepped away from softball for a few weeks.
It brought me back to earth. I found my life back for softball immediately. It’s been great ever since.
” Smashing windows, records Great for all at Granada too, other than a few teachers who had to replace smashed car windows due to home runs blasted by Aumua. The school redid their fields a few years back and mistakenly pointed the softball field’s right field fence to a teacher’s parking garage. Heinz said that Aumua, with great power to all fields, has taken out at least three car windshields, not to mention some solar panels that top off the shaded lot.
“The first time I did it I felt really bad,” Aumua said. “But I have to hit the ball where it’s pitched.” Ausmua takes all at-bats seriously, utilizing visualization and mechanical drills before each game and at-bat.
“I just try to take some time to visualize myself being successful in multiple situations,” she said. “I’m just trying to simulate what the pitcher throws and making sure all of my mechanics are on points so that they will transition into the game.” All those small details led to big results and numerous college offers, including Georgia, Oregon, LSU, Minnesota, Washington and UCLA.
She picked Auburn, currently 30-21 and 6-18 in conference, partly because it reminded her of home. A town of 76,000 in Lee County near the Georgia border, Auburn is a little smaller population wise than Livermore (88,000), which is about 50 miles east of San Francisco. “It just felt the same and it felt right,” she said.
“It will be somewhat bittersweet leaving home, but I look forward to experiencing a new culture, a new coaching staff and teammates.” Until then, she hopes to lift a young, but dangerous Granada squad (12-9) toward a NCS title, spend one more summer with the Lady Magic and best of all, coach a T-Bal team named the Rebel Ducklings in the Livermore Girls Softball Association, the same organization that groomed her as a youngster. “I really just want to give back to the young because I remember as a little girl I looked up to people just like me,” she said.
“I just want to help little girls start their journey at the same place I started mine.”.
