LJ softball: Earlier playoff win

By Ed Piper, Jr.

I want to focus on a playoff game that La Jolla High's softball team competed in before the CIF championship game, which they won, 2-1, over Mission Bay on a dramatic finish in the bottom of the final inning.

Instead, I want to re-examine the Vikings' powerful 12-3 win over Coronado May 25, only two days before the finals. Why? In collecting 19 hits, the players throughout Coach Andrea Denham's lineup showed what they can do. It was a heck of a display.

(The win actually seemed to break Coronado's spirit, because the Islanders, the number-one seed in the bracket, lost by a big margin to Mission Bay in the next game of the semifinal doubleheader, thus being eliminated from the tournament. La Jolla was seeded sixth.)

From the have's, of Linda Brown, the power-hitter, jolting two two-run homers over the centerfield fence, to the have-not's--I'm using the terms figuratively--of, say, Ava Verbrugghen, who only plays for the high school team, getting a hit and a sacrifice, everybody took part in the hitting festival.

Now, you guys, don't take things personally. I'm merely drawing out the distinction in today's high school softball between the players who practice the craft almost year-round on club teams, and those who only play for their high school teams.

Usually, but not always, the girls who compete for club teams are the better players. One, there is a selection process. If you're not very good, you probably wouldn't be playing on a club team. Two, the coaching and game experience you get on a club team are going to hone your skills. Otherwise, what are you doing out there in practice everyday?


The girls, when you talk to them, love this mixing of talents with their friends in school. They don't express frustration at all at some of their teammates' errors or mental mistakes that come from not knowing the sport the way they do.

Take Bishop's. I did a story on the Lady Knights team earlier in the season, and conducted a lengthy interview with their star pitcher, Shelby Maier, who had just committed to a full-ride at a four-year school. She said she really enjoyed playing for her school team, whereas playing for her club team was "stressful".

In the same way, without revealing names, similar was heard among the Viking contingent during warmups before the Coronado game. There is a different atmosphere on the school team. No one is competing for a position. In fact, they go around to other girls at school before and during the season trying to get them to join the team, because there aren't enough players.

That's how Verbrugghen came out. She had never played before her sophomore year. Some on the team recruited her to join the team camaraderie. That's how Sara Tyrus came out and ended up being the starting second baseman pretty much throughout her high school years. Ditto Sina Anae, an athlete but not a softball player, who ended up scoring the winning run for the championship.

I don't think Hailey Ramos plays for a club team, either. Am I wrong?

Ramos, as noted elsewhere, had four hits in the semifinal win over Coronado, including two RBI's. Vanessa Shaffer, another talented athlete but not experienced in softball before coming out two years ago as a freshman, had a single in the second and coaxed a walk in the fifth, after relief pitcher Emma Casamassima, newly inserted for the Islanders, twice was called for illegal pitches. The pitcher was landing to the side on her pitching delivery, instead of the required straight-ahead step.

I had never seen the call before.

Tyrus, a graduating senior who originally planned to sit out this season and who now has a CIF title, hit a single in the sixth and came around to score the Vikings' ninth run when Coronado catcher Danielle Herrera made an error.

Anae failed to get a hit, and was scolding herself for it. But Sina, with her big sister watching from the stands at the Poway Sportsplex, did line out to the second baseman twice.

The unsung cog in the machine has been Emily Alvarez. She is the original good humor team member, taking videos of teammates and generally keeping a smile on her face. She's easy-going, like her sister Stephanie, who starred for La Jolla and who attended the playoff games.

Alvarez singled in the third, singled again in the fourth, and played a dependable first base.

Josie Sinkeldam had three hits, including a two-run triple in the second, and scored twice. Kyra Ferenczy, likewise, had three hits, three RBI's, and scored three times in the romp.