BASEBALL: HE LOVES TO SWING QUARTZ HILL'S CHAVEZ STANDOUT HITTER ON HITTING TEAM.Byline: RAMONA SHELBURNE Ramona Shelburne is an American sports journalist currently writing for the Los Angeles Daily News. Shelburne was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She attended El Camino Real High School in Woodland Hills, California where she was a class valedictorian. and HEATHER GRIPP Staff Writers QUARTZ HILL - No matter what time of year it is, Brian Chavez hates to go more than a day without swinging a baseball bat. Chavez has been doing plenty of swinging - and connecting - for the Quartz Hill High baseball team this season. Chavez is the leading hitter for the Golden League's first-place team. The junior infielder in·field·er n. Baseball A player assigned to the infield. Noun 1. infielder - (baseball) a person who plays a position in the infield entered the week batting .567 with 12 RBI RBI abbr. Baseball runs batted in Noun 1. rbi - a run that is the result of the batter's performance; "he had more than 100 rbi last season" run batted in . He added his first home run of the season in Tuesday's nonleague loss to Harvard-Westlake of Studio City and provided the Rebels' only two hits the next day against Cleveland of Reseda. ``I love hitting,'' Chavez said. ``It's just something I can't stop doing. I'm always working on my hitting year-round.'' His devotion to crafting a perfect swing is evident during the summer, when he makes the lengthy trip to Ventura County a few times a week to participate in a baseball school for the region's elite. He also plays on a 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. and is a member of 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 travel team. ``He has always been a good hitter,'' Quartz Hill coach Lance Pierson said. ``I remember Brian back in Pony pony, small horse, officially any horse under 14.2 hands (58 in./145 cm) high. Most ponies are of Celtic origin. They are noted for their extreme hardiness and gentle natures. Some ponies are only 26 in. (65 cm) high. See Shetland pony; Welsh pony. baseball, and he was one of the best back then. ``But this year, he's hitting better than he's ever hit. He's hitting for power, for average and to all fields. Last year, he got in a little bit of a pull slump where he was pulling everything, but he's not doing that anymore.'' Chavez, 17, has been a varsity starter since he was a freshman. He teams with fellow junior Matt Ware Matthew Jesse Ware (born December 2, 1982 in Santa Monica, California) is currently an American football defensive back in the NFL for the Arizona Cardinals. He was waived by the Philadelphia Eagles on September 2, 2006 and picked up by the Cardinals. to form one of the best middle-infield duos around. Chavez moves from second to shortstop when Ware pitches and even sometimes pitches himself. He has always been a steady contributor at the plate, batting better than .400 each of the past two seasons. ``Each year, I just want to do better and better,'' Chavez said. ``I'm not really doing anything differently. I'm just a little smarter, I guess.'' Others are taking notice. Pierson said several colleges are inquiring inquiring, v to draw information from a client—whether by verbal questioning or physical examination—to assess the person's state of health. about Chavez and Ware. Chavez was invited to try out for the 16-under USA Youth National Team last summer and plans to try out for the 18-under Junior National Team in June. Being in the spotlight doesn't bother Chavez. On a team that entered the week with a .396 team 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. , he knows there is no pressure to carry the team. ``One through nine, our hitters are really good,'' Chavez said. ``Especially with Kent Wulf coming over from Highland. He had a good year last year and is doing pretty good again. So it's never on one person. ``We feel confident, everyone's going good.'' - Heather Gripp 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' : Balancing act Highland catcher juggles team chemistry with own intensity To hear Highland softball junior catcher Shannon Doepking talk about her team's 4-9 start is almost like hearing a recording of her coach, Glenda Potts. ``We need to cut down on our errors and put the ball in play,'' said Doepking, who will be one of the area's most highly recruited players next year. ``We've been moving a lot of people around and I think that's why we've been making a lot of errors.'' Now listen to Potts: ``We've been in every game except for two, and in every game, the thing that's killed us are these stupid little errors.'' One is a competitive player who can't stand to lose but has a lot of friends on the team. The other is a coach who can't stand to lose and gets paid to have those tough conversations. ``(Shannon) is used to winning,'' Potts said. ``And now that we're not winning as much, it's very frustrating frus·trate tr.v. frus·trat·ed, frus·trat·ing, frus·trates 1. a. To prevent from accomplishing a purpose or fulfilling a desire; thwart: for her. But she's slowly starting to deal with that and be more of a leader. It's kind of hard for her because she's got a lot of friends on the team.'' Doepking, who comes across as a genuinely friendly person, is an intense ballplayer who has played at the highest levels with her travel team, the Southern California Stealth stealth Any military technology intended to make vehicles or missiles nearly invisible to enemy radar or other electronic detection. Research in antidetection technology began soon after radar was invented. . She has received more than 35 recruiting letters from some of the top collegiate col·le·giate adj. 1. Of, relating to, or held to resemble a college. 2. Of, for, or typical of college students. 3. Of or relating to a collegiate church. softball programs in the nation, including UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX and Arizona. This is not a new dilemma for elite travel-ball players when they return to play for their high school teams, many of whom have only a few other travel-ball players. But each elite player must find their own way of dealing with it, and becoming a leader and a friend to her teammates. ``It's tough to learn how to adjust to the different levels, but I think I'm getting better at it,'' Doepking said. What makes it harder is that as little as two years ago, when she was a freshman, Highland was full of elite players - such as Angie and Ashley D'Errico, and Natalie and Melissa Rawson - all of whom went on to play at Division I programs. ``She played with the D'Erricos and Rawsons on teams that won constantly,'' Potts said. ``(Since they left), a lot of what they did has fallen on her shoulders. Those kids were like having second coaches on the field, but they were older than the other kids.'' Doepking, though, never has been afraid of pressure and should respond to the increased responsibility. Asked what it's like to play in front of coaches such as Mike Candrea Mike Candrea (born August 29, 1955) is the head softball coach at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona. He is also the head coach of the USA National Softball team. Collegiate Coaching Record Candrea coached at the junior college level prior to arriving at UA. of Arizona or Sue Enquist of UCLA, Doepking said, ``It's cool. It makes me step up my game that much more. ``I like that I'm in a position where they are coming to watch me play and where I get to show them what I've got.'' - Ramona Shelburne BASEBALL LOOK BACK Victories don't come easily Golden League action is on hold this week for spring break but most teams have been busy. However, not many have been busy winning. Quartz Hill suffered its first on-field loss - its previous loss was a forfeit To lose to another person or to the state some privilege, right, or property due to the commission of an error, an offense, or a crime, a breach of contract, or a neglect of duty; to subject property to confiscation; or to become liable for the payment of a penalty, as the result of a - Tuesday against Harvard-Westlake of Studio City. Things got worse the next day when the Rebels played at Cleveland of Reseda and were held to two hits in a 10-0 mercy-rule loss to a team that was coming off five consecutive losses. Quartz Hill and Palmdale both went into the break with convincing victories over Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley and Lancaster, respectively, but Highland narrowly escaped with a 6-5 victory over last-place Littlerock. SOFTBALL LOOK BACK Taking time to take a break Golden League play doesn't begin until April 15th, so most area teams took it easy this week. Highland lost 4-0 to Westlake on Saturday at the Daily News Victory Spring Classic but rebounded with a 6-5 victory over San Fernando San Fernando, city, Argentina San Fernando (săn fərnăn`dō), city (1991 pop. 144,761), Buenos Aires prov., E Argentina. It is a district administrative center in the Greater Buenos Aires area. , one of the top teams in the City Section. Highland led 6-0 at one point and nearly let San Fernando back into the game with a barrage of errors but finally hung on for its fourth win of the year. Antelope Valley coach Kristi Speir said her team is working out on its own over the break and is looking forward to the opportunity to return to full strength. ``Normally league starts right after break, but this year we have a whole extra week, so we're going to rest our injuries,'' Speir said. CAPTION(S): 2 photos, 7 boxes Photo: (1 -- color) Quartz Hill's Brian Chavez is a strong infielder and even pitches on occasion, but hitting is his passion. Chavez entered the week batting almost .600. Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer (2 -- color) Highland's Shannon Doepking has received recruiting letters from several Division I colleges, including UCLA and Arizona. Joel P. Lugavere/Special to the Daily News Box: (1) TIME OUT (2) COMING UP (3) BASEBALL GAME Noun 1. baseball game - a ball game played with a bat and ball between two teams of nine players; teams take turns at bat trying to score runs; "he played baseball in high school"; "there was a baseball game on every empty lot"; "there was a desire for National League OF THE WEEK: Palmdale at Quartz Hill, 3:15 p.m. Wednesday (4) SOFTBALL GAME OF THE WEEK: Highland vs. Oaks Christian, 9 a.m. Saturday Daily News Victory Spring Classic - HJelte Sports Center, Encino (5) BASEBALL LOOK BACK (see text) (6) SOFTBALL LOOK BACK (see text) (7) STANDINGS: BASEBALL (8) STANDINGS: SOFTBALL |
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