A CHANGE FOR THE BETTER.Byline: Heather Gripp Daily News Staff Writer Jackie Aranda wanted a change. She knew little about Moorpark College Moorpark College is a California-state funded community college located on a 134 acre (542,000 m²) property reclining on a hill in Moorpark, a town in Ventura County, California. or its softball softball, variant of baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Invented (1888) in Chicago as an indoor game, it was at various times called indoor baseball, mush ball, playground ball, kitten ball, and, because it was also played by women, ladies' team, but decided to attend the school just to be different. Most of her friends went to College of the Canyons College of the Canyons is one of the fastest-growing community colleges in the state. According to the National Junior College Research Association, College of the Canyons consistently ranks in the top 50 community colleges in the nation. , but Aranda feels she made the right choice. ``I love it out there,'' Aranda said. ``I got to get away and meet new people.'' Some things haven't changed for the former Village Christian standout, though. Winning her softball games remains a constant. Aranda is one of the main reasons Moorpark can clinch Clinch, river, c.300 mi (480 km) long, formed by the junction of two forks in SW Va., and flowing generally SW across E Tenn. to the Tennessee River at Kingston. the Western State Conference Northern Division title with a win in today's final regular-season game at Cuesta cuesta (kwĕs`tə), asymmetric ridge characterized by a short, steep escarpment on one side, and a long, gentle slope on the other. The steep side exposes the edge of erosion-resistant rock layers that form the cuestas. . The Raiders freshman pitcher improved to 20-6 after Thursday's win. Her .464 batting average batting average n. Baseball A measure of a batter's performance obtained by dividing the total of base hits by the number of times at bat, not including walks. Noun 1. entering the week was fourth best in the conference. ``She's been doing everything,'' Moorpark coach Gil Mendoza said. ``She's pitching really well for us and hitting great, too.'' Aranda's curveball is her best pitch, but a combination of five other pitches that top out in the 60 mph range keep batters BATTeRS (バッターズ) stands for Bisei Asteroid Tracking Telescope for Rapid Survey. It is a Japanese project to find asteroids. It is associated with the Japanese Spaceguard Association. Members include Takeshi Urata. guessing. Having a solid defense behind her has cut down on her need to be a strikeout strike·out n. Baseball Abbr. K or SO An out made by a batter charged with three strikes and credited to the pitcher who threw the strikes. Noun 1. pitcher, as she was in high school. ``It makes it really easy because I know I can throw my game and not worry about the defense,'' Aranda said. ``I know I can let them hit it and the defense will still get the outs.'' Getting Aranda out isn't as easy. Her bat is valuable enough to keep her in the lineup as a designated hitter designated hitter n. Baseball Abbr. DH A player designated at the start of a game to bat instead of the pitcher in the lineup. Noun 1. when she's not pitching. She claims pitching is what she spends most of her time practicing. Aranda, 18, wanted to be like her older cousins and started playing the position when she was 8. She instantly decided it was her favorite part of the game and started seeing a pitching coach. Hitting was just something she did. ``I don't spend a lot of time on (hitting),'' Aranda said. ``I just get the right pitches, I guess. ``I don't like to hit in pressure situations. I do better when I'm relaxed. When we're winning it's easier to get hits. ``I guess I'm more of a natural hitter because I don't have to think about it. With my pitching, I have to concentrate more. I really have to focus when I'm pitching. My coach calls me the 3-2 pitcher, I like to go deep in the counts. My eyes wander. I just need to concentrate and stay focused on the batter.'' Aranada got a chance to show what she could do early in the season. When Moorpark's other starter, Naomi Qualls, was unable to attend a day of the Cypress tournament, Aranda pitched all three games. Her only loss was 1-0 against Cypress, the top-ranked team in the state, in the final game. Within the first month of the season she had more wins than last year's Raiders (8-25). ``I just went out there and I didn't think I could do it,'' she said. ``Then we started playing and it was like the same old thing.'' That's one thing she and the Raiders (29-9, 14-3) are glad didn't change. |
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