BASEBALL: INJURIES HURT HIGHLAND HOPES BULLDOGS STRUGGLING WITH FOUR OUT.Byline: HEATHER GRIPP AND 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. Staff Writers Highland High's baseball team can only look up at the three-way tie for first in the Golden League and wonder what if? In a year no one is running away with the title Quartz Hill firmly held the past three seasons, Highland was supposed to be a contender to dethrone de·throne tr.v. de·throned, de·thron·ing, de·thrones 1. To remove from the throne; depose. 2. To remove from a prominent or powerful position. the Rebels. That was before the Bulldogs were ravaged rav·age v. rav·aged, rav·ag·ing, rav·ages v.tr. 1. To bring heavy destruction on; devastate: A tornado ravaged the town. 2. by injuries. Highland has almost as many starters out with injuries as it does league victories. ``It's just one of those things,'' Bulldogs coach Mike Van Cheri said. ``It seems to be an epidemic around here lately. We've been snakebit snake·bit also snake·bit·ten adj. Experiencing a period of misfortune or inability to succeed. .'' The latest starter to go down is senior shortstop Evan Johnson, who suffered a pulled groin during practice Tuesday and did not play in Wednesday's loss to Littlerock. Also sidelined are the team's top two pitchers, junior Noah Vigil and senior Luke Organ. Senior center fielder Tucker Mabee is out with a quadriceps quadriceps /quad·ri·ceps/ (kwod´ri-seps) having four heads. quad·ri·ceps n. The large four-part extensor muscle at the front of the thigh. adj. injury suffered last week. Vigil could return for today's game against Littlerock. It was determined the left-hander had a dislocated dis·lo·cate tr.v. dis·lo·cat·ed, dis·lo·cat·ing, dis·lo·cates 1. To put out of usual or proper place, position, or relationship. 2. rib in his back. He felt better after visiting a chiropractor chiropractor a practitioner in chiropractic. chiropractor A health professional trained in chiropractic; chiropractors do not perform surgery or prescribe drugs; of 50,000 licensed chiropractors in the US, many practice 'straight' chiropractic, ie and threw a bullpen session Wednesday. Vigil's return likely will be too late to help the Bulldogs (10-12, 6-6) salvage a playoff spot. The depleted de·plete tr.v. de·plet·ed, de·plet·ing, de·pletes To decrease the fullness of; use up or empty out. [Latin d team entered the week in fourth place but saw its chances of a postseason berth dim with Wednesday's loss to a Littlerock team that was tied for last place. Highland is three games out of third with three games remaining, so the Bulldogs must win their remaining games and receive help just to pull into a tie for third place. The league receives three automatic berths in the playoffs. On the bright side, the Bulldogs have given their younger players a chance to show what they can do, and there have been some pleasant surprises. Pitcher Kyle Arnold was promoted from junior varsity junior varsity n. Abbr. JV A high-school or college team that competes in interschool sports on the level below varsity. Noun 1. . He helped upset first-place Palmdale last week as part of what Van Cheri described as ``a fantastic job.'' The Bulldogs were impressed enough that they gave Arnold his first varsity start Wednesday. Filling out the rest of the lineup isn't so easy. ``We just have to scramble and shuffle our lineup around,'' Van Cheri said. ``We've got our work cut out for us.'' Heather Gripp, (818) 713-3607 heather.gripp(at)dailynews.com 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' : Nothing sad about the end of these careers Postseason or not, several area seniors made their marks Jamie Prather has a little more than one week left in her high school softball career and she wants to make the most of it. Prather and her teammates at Paraclete (7-12, 1-5 Olympic League) were eliminated from playoff contention a while ago, but Prather is determined to play hard until the final out is recorded. ``You have to,'' she said. ``You always want to play hard and do your best to get better. ``I don't like losing. But I'm really proud of the progress we've made this year. I knew we were going to struggle at the beginning of the year, but all the girls have continued to work hard to improve no matter what.'' Paraclete's slick-fielding shortstop is one of a number of good players who will most likely end their high school careers next week. Five teams remain in contention for three playoff berths from the Golden League, meaning two talented teams will be left out. Lancaster (8-2), Quartz Hill (7-3) and Highland (6-3) were the top three teams as of Wednesday while Littlerock (5-4) and Palmdale (5-4) were on the outside looking in. Should those standings remain the same, this could be the last week for Littlerock senior pitcher Nickie Perez and Palmdale senior pitcher Ashley Thomas Ashley Thomas is the name of a fictional character in ITV's soap opera Emmerdale. He is played by John Middleton. About Ashley The character Ashley Thomas is vicar of Emmerdale. . Here's a look back at the careers of some of the top seniors who could be playing their last games this week: Jamie Prather, Paraclete: It's been a tough year for Paraclete, but Prather continues to be a bright spot. ``Almost every umpire up here has come up and told me she's the best shortstop in the (Antelope) Valley,'' Paraclete coach Margaret Neill said. ``She gets rid of the ball so quick and she's just so smooth. ... Her numbers aren't the greatest, but I think that's because she's trying so hard to carry the team.'' Prather is batting .316, second-highest on the team. She plans to play for Antelope Valley College Antelope Valley College is a comprehensive community college located in Lancaster, California, USA. It is operated by the Antelope Valley Community College District, with a primary service area of 1,945 square miles covering portions of Los Angeles and Kern counties. next year. Jessi Dunn, 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 : The hard-throwing right-hander is one of the best pitchers in the Golden League, but doesn't get much defensive support. But Dunn has never complained about it or entertained thoughts of transferring. ``I really think this is the beginning for her,'' Antelope Valley coach Giselle Neumann said. ``She's just going to continue to improve.'' Dunn will play at Dixie Community College in St. George, Utah St. George is a city located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Utah, and the county seat of Washington County, Utah.GR6 It is the principal city of and is included in the St. George, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. next year. Nickie Perez, Littlerock: The Lobos aren't out of playoff contention yet but they will need some help from other teams in order to get in. If this is indeed Perez's last week of high school softball, she will leave behind quite a legacy. Perez was the Golden League's Most Valuable Player last season when she led Littlerock to its first playoff appearance in school history. As well as she played last year, what she has done this season might be more impressive, because Littlerock lost so much talent off of last year's team. ``After that win over Quartz Hill, people would be crazy not to vote for her as MVP (Multimedia Video Processor) A high-speed DSP chip from Texas Instruments, introduced in 1994. Officially introduced as the TMS320C80, it combines RISC technology with the functionality of four DSPs on one chip. again,'' Littlerock coach Sarah Adams said. Littlerock upset Quartz Hill 1-0 on April 21 in 10 innings INNINGS, estates. Lands gained from the sea by draining. Cunn. L. Dict. h. t.; Law of Sewers, 31. . Perez was struck in the wrist by a line drive in the top of the 10th inning but fought through the pain to finish the game. Perez isn't sure of her college plans but said she would like to play for a Division I program. Ashley Thomas, Palmdale Thomas is one of the league's best all-around players. Thomas is batting .360 and leads the league with a 0.72 ERA. After winning only three league games the past two seasons, the Falcons have won five, with Thomas leading the way. She is planning to walk on at Fresno State next year. ``Watching her now in her senior year, she's totally matured,'' Palmdale coach Deb DiMeglio said of Thomas. ``We're basically riding her arm right now. ``For as much raw talent as she had, and the ability she could develop, I think it'd be a real shame if they didn't take her on the team.'' Ramona Shelburne, (818) 713-3617 ramona.shelburne(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 2 photos, 5 boxes Photo: (1 -- color) Right-hander Kyle Arnold was promoted from junior varsity after Highland's top two pitchers went down with injuries. (2 -- color) Paraclete High senior shortstop Jamie Prather is second on her team with a .316 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. . Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer Box: (1) LEADING OFF (2) STANDINGS (3) COMING UP (4) BOYS: GAME OF THE WEEK (5) GIRLS: GAME OF THE WEEK |
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