A COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE; PALMDALE SHORTSTOP IS DRIVEN TO SHORE UP TROUBLESOME DEFENSE.Byline: Gerry Gittelson Daily News Staff Writer Jason Gorman is a good enough baseball player to know what he's not good at. And he is determined enough to improve on those areas. ``My goal is to bring my game to a higher level,'' said Gorman, who leads the Palmdale American Legion baseball American Legion Baseball is a variety of amateur baseball played by teenage boys in 45 states in the USA. Purpose According to the American Legion, the purpose of American Legion Baseball is to give young men "an opportunity to develop their skills, personal fitness, team into today's 4 p.m. District 20 playoff game Noun 1. playoff game - one game in the series of games constituting a playoff game - a single play of a sport or other contest; "the game lasted two hours" playoff - any final competition to determine a championship vs. Valley North at at Birmingham High School Birmingham High School is a public coeducational high school in the neighborhood/district of Lake Balboa in the San Fernando Valley section of the city of Los Angeles, California. The school is a part of District One of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). . The level that Gorman is at is a pretty good one. He was selected to play for the Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, Panthers in a recent Junior Olympics tournament in Florida. He batted over .300 for the Panthers, who finished fourth out of 56 teams. Gorman, a shortstop who will be a senior at Palmdale High School div style="float:right; margin: 0 0 1em 2em; width: 20em; text-align: right; font-size: 0.86em; font-family: lucida grande, sans-serif; line-height: normal;"> '''Palmdale High School in the fall, was even better in Legion this season, batting .515. Palmdale (21-5) stretched its winning streak Noun 1. winning streak - a streak of wins streak, run - an unbroken series of events; "had a streak of bad luck"; "Nicklaus had a run of birdies" to 15 last weekend, beating QH South by forfeit (not enough players) and 28-7 on Saturday, then sweeping AV North 10-4, 6-4 on Sunday to clinch a playoff spot. Still, the 5-foot-11, 180-pounder wants to add strength to improve his power and to work on his fielding, his one flaw during the Golden League season. ``Jason has always been a good player,'' Palmdale American Legion American Legion, national association of male and female war veterans, founded (1919) in Paris. Membership is open to veterans of World Wars I and II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. coach Bill Paxton said. ``But we're working on his fielding. He's taking a lot of extra ground balls. He can get to the ball just fine; he's just playing a little bit on his heels.'' Gorman batted .400 for Palmdale High and said he expects to hit more home runs in his senior season. He has two home runs in legion play and four in two prep seasons. ``I'm definitely improving,'' Gorman said. To continue to do that, Gorman will continue to play. After the legion season ends next week, he will join the Pittsburgh Pirates This article is about the baseball team. For the National Hockey League team, see Pittsburgh Pirates (NHL). For the National Football League team (1933–1940), see Pittsburgh Steelers. scout team In sports, the scout team, also referred to as a practice team or practice squad, is a group of players on a team whose task is to emulate future opponents for the featured (or starting) players. for the second straight year. Palmdale High coach Randy Lintemoot said Gorman's strength is his swing. ``As a hitter Jason has a very compact swing,'' Lintemoot said. ``He's a real good line-drive hitter who can hit from gap to gap.'' Like Paxton, Lintemoot is counting on Gorman to improve defensively. ``He made quite a few errors last season,'' Lintemoot said, ``but he has real good hands and moves real well. I think he'll get more range and get to more balls. It's just a matter of concentration.'' Paxton described Gorman as a player who is ``quiet but gets the job done,'' adding ``he's a good team player.'' Paxton said that Gorman's own effort will determine how far he goes in baseball. ``Jason just has to want to play at the next level,'' Paxton said. ``It's just a matter of his work ethic. He's got to love baseball to really improve. I do think he's getting more aggressive.'' Note: Palmdale earned the No. 3 seed for the District 20 tournament. Antelope Valley North also qualified as the No. 2 seed. Also included in the eight-team field are: No. 1 Van Nuys East (22-4); No. 4 Woodland Hills West (21-5); No. 5 Newhall-Saugus (20-6); No. 6 Central Valley (21-5); No. 7 Woodland Hills East (20-6); No. 8 Valley North (20-6). CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Palmdale shortstop Jason Gorman knows his defense needs improvement and has been taking extra ground balls this summer. Terri Thuente / Daily News |
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