By Ed Piper
The Viking softball team, with two-and-a-half weeks to play in the regular season, stand 12-9 on the season and pretty competitive in their league.
With Anthony Sarain, the predecessor to present coach Andrea Denham, temporarily manning coaching duties while Denham was out of town, La Jolla built a 4-0 lead against visiting Hoover after three innings and took home a 10-0 victory.
"Let's play hard and get some runs early," implored Sarain, who only wishes he had a pitcher like sophomore Emmy Cardenas back when he was at the helm. Come to think of it, he had a pretty fair bunch during his term, with his daughter in the pitcher's circle, and several bombers populating the infield and outfield as they battled good teams eye-to-eye.
Having raked at the plate effectively, the new-era Vikings are setting themselves up for a run in the CIF playoffs in three weeks. Shortstop Kelsey DeFalco is a senior. Catcher Jackie Farias, a captain, likewise.
Farias, in particular, nearly smashed Sarain's cell phone in his pocket. Anthony, who by trade is a professional sax player, nearly got his head taken off in the third base coach's box on Jackie's first time at the plate.
Wearing a batting helmet, as base coaches are required to do, Sarain ducked when Arias swung early and drove a smash in foul territory down his way. As he dipped his head, the ball bounced off his helmet. Her next time up, he safely located himself behind the third base dugout fence.
He recounted the story when, in a previous instance, he did take a shot to his cell phone. It was another year, another girl. The phone was in his right pocket. The ball pulverized his phone. "It smashed it all to bits," he said, smiling, sort of.
Cardenas pitched the shutout, but in the first three innings, she struggled with uncharacteristic wildness. She walked several batters, which is not like her.
Last year, with the abbreviated spring sports season as COVID revved up, Cardenas was named the Freshman of the Year in softball by Cal-Hi Sports.
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